A Dark Moon over Deling City
by Tarlia
Summary: A sequel to 'In Honor of our Children' - All the old cast returns, along with a few new characters. This is set 10 years after the end of my other fanfic, which is 17 years after the end of the game, and Squall, Rinoa & Co are all the grand age of 34/35.
1. Chapters 01 - 05

Okay, before I begin I'd just like to thank everyone who has bothered to review anything else I've written.Seeing good reviews makes me smile, and I need to be in a good mood these days because of my upcoming math exam. Thanks especially to my friends at ffgurus, who were helping and encouraging me when I was in progress of writing this, as well as all my other fanfics. Now I'll stop rambling and let you read.Enjoy!

Final Fantasy VIII – A Dark Moon over Deling City

By Tarlia

A sequel to 'In Honor of Our Children'. All names and characters from the game, Final Fantasy VIII, belong to Squaresoft. All original characters are the property of the author. Do not use without permission.

**_Chapter 1:_**

Sparks flew as the two, silver blades clashed together with incredible force, one forcing the other to slip away. The swords separated, only to strike again the next second. Left, right, left. Slash, cut, stab. The sound of metal meeting, over and over. Concentration, strength, skill.

They were a man and a woman, out in an open, grassy field, and no one else was there. The sun was low on the sky; it was early evening. She was an aging female, face and mind marked with her 50 years of age, but her body fit for a 30 year old. Her clothes, a dark purple in color, matched her intimidating attitude perfectly, and went along well with her talent in sword fighting. It looked like a dress, in many ways – one piece of clothing, with long sleeves and a black vest on top of it, but what looked like a skirt was in fact wide trousers. A long, purple cape with a hood and black boots would have completed the image of a knight, hadn't it been for the fact she was a woman. Her hair was amazingly long, pitch black, and tied together with three bands of the same color as her cape and clothes, and her eyes were impossibly dark brown, almost blending in with the pupils.

The blades kept hitting each other, again and again. Stress, sweat, heat.

He, however, was younger, and contrasted her with 15 years less of experience, as well as a very handsome face compared to her witch-like features. Moderately short hair was silky and soft, long bangs covering part of his face and dangling in front of his muddy green eyes, which carried the hardened expression of a difficult and tragic life. His clothes were simple enough, a brown shirt and boots, and gray pants. Despite his natural charm, appearance seemed to be the least of his worries.

"Right, Moonlight, _on the right_!"

"Shut up! I'm doing my best!"

Concentration, strength, skill. That was all he needed.

Pride.

_(Concentrate…)_

With one swift swipe, the longsword was brutally knocked out of his hands, and passed several meters through the air before hitting the ground. The tip of a sharp blade was brought to his throat.

"Game over. Kneel for me," she hissed.

Mutely, he refused. His cold eyes met her dark ones, and they stared at each other, unblinking. Then, she brought the blade closer, "I said _kneel for me_! Do it!"

Bitterly, reluctantly, he gritted his teeth in humiliation and fell to his knees in defeat, but his gaze never left hers.

For a moment longer, she returned the stare. Then, she gave a heavy sigh and threw her sword to the ground in front of him, "Damn it, Moonlight! What the hell is the matter with you?!"

Slowly getting to his feet, the man brushed off his clothes and walked over to retrieve his weapon, "Nothing's the matter. You're just a better warrior than me," he replied, dully.

"Don't give me that," she narrowed her eyes warningly, picking up her own sword, "You've been fighting like a blind Geezard lately. There's something bothering you, and I know what it is. It's because I told you, isn't it?"

Not replying, he strapped the sword to his belt and sat down on one of the many rocks scattered in the area, staring towards the mountains.

The woman sighed again, "Had I known it'd affect you this much, I would never have told you the truth," she paused, her eyes turning softer, almost hurt, "You never really loved me, did you?"

He answered immediately, without looking at her. She had asked so many times before, and every time he responded the same, "Of course I love you, Sakira. You are my guardian. My teacher. My protector. My life is devoted to you."

"I meant as a mother."

_(I had a mother. You were not her.)_

_ _

"You took me away," he whispered, his voice swept away by the wind. Yet, she caught his words.

"They didn't want you," Sakira said with simplicity.

"No," standing again, he turned to face her, eyes burning with inner frustration, pain and betrayal, "No. You took me away. You were only a child then, and you took me away for your own, selfish desires. My mother would _never_ have given me up! Never! _You_ did this to me!"

"Listen to yourself, Moonlight. You know I never lie to you," she remained as calm as she ever was, but her voice was harsh and sharp, loveless, spitting poison. Like a snake waiting for its next kill, "You are nothing without me. I gave you your life, I made you what you are. Your mother wanted glory, fame, expensive jewelry, you would never have been happy with her. A child born outside marriage would have destroyed her career, don't you realize that? She would have hated you for ruining her life."

Inwardly, the woman smiled as she saw how his rage changed to sorrow and shame, as his expression turned into one similar to that of a dog being beaten. She could control him this way, like she always had.

"Bloodline does not matter, Moonlight. You are my creation. My son."

_(Shut up!)_

_ _

"Do you hear me, Mwezai? You're mine."

"SHUT UP!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, whipping out his sword in the flash of a second, "One on one, Sakira! Once and for all! I am everything without you! I will find my true destiny, I will take what is rightfully mine! If it wasn't for you, _I_ could have been the hero now! _I_ could have been famous! You made me what I am, yet I am nothing," he stood there, breathing hard, the blade hovering in the air. But he did not dare to challenge her. He did not dare to attack.

She watched him, darkly, for a long while. Then, a small smile spread on her lips, and she started chuckling. First quietly, then she was laughing out loud, "Oh, my, Moonlight! You are such a pitiful sight! You say you're going to take on some of the mightiest people of the world, yet you stand there, quivering like a child and afraid to attack an old woman. What kind of man are you?"

Mwezai bit his lip, hard, so hard blood began to spill. So much pain, so much anger and confusion, so much regret and shame. So many things to undo and so many things to catch up with, "I'm going to find them, Sakira. With or without your help. I'm going to find them, and I'm going to do what's right," there was a newfound determination in his face, one she had hardly seen before. His breath was shaky, and he licked away the red liquid from his lower lip.

Frowning, Sakira slowly put her hands on her hips, glaring at him dangerously. Then the smile slowly returned, but it was different this time. It wasn't really a smile, "Well then, Moonlight. You won't get far without me."

**_Chapter 2:_**

# Raine Loire

_-----_

_2356 – 2378_

And that was it. So simple, so empty. A name and two numbers indicating the year of her birth and death, and that was all that was left to remember her by. A plain, gray, flat headstone placed out there in the open, surrounded by lush, green grass and flowers. The breeze picked up, ruffling his dark brown hair. He flicked the long bangs away from his eyes and slowly lowered to one knee, stroking a hand over the stone gently.

_(So this is your final place of rest, mother… You were born in this town and you died in this town. You had long, dark hair and blue eyes, and that's all I know about you. I wonder what you were like. I wonder how it would have felt like to really _know_ you.)_

_ _

A bunch of beautiful blossoms – pure white and rose pink ones mixed – was placed at the grave, as the girl's tender hands gingerly put down the blue vase filled with water. She sat next to the man, staring silently at the name engraved on the headstone, the name of her grandmother whom she had never known.

The girl's hair was soft and fluid in appearance, reaching her waist in length. It was almost the same dark brown as her father's, though a shade darker, and tied back with a light lilac band. Dark blue eyes sparkled in a rounded, beautiful face – Apart from the features inherited from her mother's side, even as a 10 year old, she was a perfect reflection of Raine.

Beautiful, honest and stubborn.

"Dad, how come you haven't taken me here before?" she asked, glancing up at her father who was still watching the grave, an expressionless look on his face. As she spoke, though, his steel blue eyes slowly turned to her.

"I don't know. This is the first time _I'm_ here, actually."

"You look different," the girl mused, meeting his gaze as he gave her a puzzled look, "I mean, you look different from when… You know, when we visit Adrian's grave."

Despite the indifference he had adapted in his younger years, Squall's expression visibly darkened at the mention of Adrian. The characteristic frown found its way to his face as he glanced back to his mother's headstone, shaking his head lightly, "I never knew her, Dawn. I don't feel the… The same pain when I'm here. The same guilt."

Dawn kept watching him, slowly reaching up with her hand to take his, much larger one in her own, "What do you feel?"

Turning to his daughter once again, Squall started to say something, but paused, simply watching her. It was strange, how he could speak his mind to her. In many ways, he felt there were things he could say to her that even Rinoa would never be capable of understanding. That this girl, this walking, talking, little piece of himself was the only person in the world who could truly share his emotions and comprehend them. Perhaps that was a lie, perhaps it was something he imagined. But the feeling only grew along with Dawn, as both she and her intelligence idly matured. So he did not feel any reluctance when he cracked a small smile at her and replied, "Emptiness. Loss of something I never had."

It was similar to how she felt about Adrian. The big brother who had died before she was born. He would have been 16 now, he could have protected her, taught her new ways of getting in trouble, told her things her parents never would. Loss of something she never had, but something that was supposed to be there. Dawn's eyes narrowed, like a mirror of Squall's own frown.

"Laguna says you look very much like her," he continued, letting the previous subject slip away, "I think so, too." He could remember, from when he had seen into the past through Laguna's eyes as Ellone had him 'connected', that one time 17 years ago. It was probably one of the few things he and Laguna had ever agreed on.

"Why do you always call him Laguna if he's your dad?" Dawn asked, in all her innocence.

"Ask Laguna about that." Some things weren't meant to be talked about.

Silence enveloped them again for a while as they sat there. Dawn let her hand loosen its grip on his and slip away, and she rose, "I want to go back to mom."

"Dawn, wait…," Squall stood up, too, looking down at her for a second before lifting his hand to touch the Griever medallion that hung around his neck, "Ellone told me this belonged to Raine. She gave it to me before she died." Grabbing the chain of the necklace, he pulled it over his head and held it, then put it around Dawn's neck, "I think you should have it."

The girl studied the silver lion head carefully, letting it rest in her hand for a moment. "It's a symbol of strength," Squall said as he watched her, "And pride. It helped me once. Now it is yours."

A bright smile spread across Dawn's face, "Thanks, dad!" she cheered, before whirling around and dashing back towards the spot where they were having their picnic, "Mom! _Mom_! Look what I got!"

Squall sighed quietly to himself and remained where he was as he saw his daughter proudly show off the necklace to his wife. They both smiled and laughed about something. That cheery attitude was one thing Dawn definitely had not gotten from him. She was a girl of so many different personalities. Or maybe just one, big personality.

(Here I am, having a picnic out in a grassy field with my wife and daughter, like any normal guy… Who could have imagined?) He inwardly chuckled and shook his head, glancing up at the sky. (I don't know where I'm going, though… Don't know if I'm content. I suppose I am. I have Rinoa and Dawn, and that's all I need, really… I guess.)

Suddenly, he got a creepy feeling of something being amiss. That he was being watched, that someone was stalking him from behind. But as he turned, there was no one in sight. There was no one there but the three of them.

(Old, touchy nerves… I'm seeing ghosts.)

Shrugging it off, Squall went to join his small family.

**Chapter 3:**

** **

"… Are you the father of the child, sir?"

"No, I am her manager. How is the boy doing?"

"Well,he's born one and a half month early and is quite weak. It can go both ways from here."

Sakira peeked around the corner of the wall, her dirty, black hair hanging into her eyes. She watched the black dressed man speak with the doctor, and for some reason, she disliked the expression on his face. He seemed cold, the sort of man who only cared about business. The sort of man despising all those who were less fortunate than himself. Like her, a young girl who lived in the streets, stealing and begging to keep herself alive.

"Make sure he does not survive another day," the manager said.

The doctor looked shocked as a huge amount of gil was stuffed into the pocket of his white coat, "Sir?"

"You heard me," the man hissed, "If this comes out into public, her career is over before it has even begun. Tell her he died of natural causes. I will not ask you again."

The girl's eyes widened as the doctor nodded mutely. The two men looked at each other, then went in different directions. Quickly, Sakira snuck towards the room where she knew the baby was. Keeping out of sight, even in a pale-walled hospital such was this, was one of her specialties, along with sword fighting and thievery. The combination secured her survival.

Immediately, she found the small child lying in a white clothed bed. Wrapping the blanket around it, she lifted the baby boy and made a hasty retreat towards the window. Opening it, she moved out into the cold and dark night, climbing down the fire escape with one arm around the infant.

As she ran down the black alley, with the crying child in her arms and the wind in her face, she looked up at the sky. It was past midnight, but the stars and the moon lit up her path, and she immediately knew what to name him, "Nakupenda, Mwezai. You are my child now."

And from that moment, she would never be alone again.

She woke to the dull sound of the train's wheels thundering against the rails. Blinking her eyes open, she focused on the younger man sitting on the opposite seat from her, as she leaned her forehead against her hand and groaned, "Oh… How long was I asleep?"

"For about an hour," he replied evenly, without looking up from the newspaper he was reading.

"Give me that," Sakira grunted, grabbing the newspaper out of his hands, "… Currently staying in Winhill… blah blah blah… The heroic son of President Laguna Loire… yadda yadda… Mrs. Leonhart says she and her husband are going to Trabia next…," she glanced up at Mwezai, "Media just won't leave these people alone, huh?"

He shook his head bitterly, letting his hand slip over his longsword, "And here I am, forgotten. But I will make them remember me." A sinister look swept across his face, "And if nothing else, the press makes it easy for me to find them."

"Will you please explain again why we are going to Dollet?" She glared at him, throwing the paper down on the floor and leaned back in her seat.

"Relax. I told you that geography book would come in handy. We're going to board a ship there and travel to Fisherman's Horizon. From there, we'll walk the old railroad to Esthar, and-"

"Hold on," Sakira held up a hand, "Did you say walk?! And if they are in Trabia, then why are we going to Esthar?"

"You always told me to have patience, Sakira. Take your own advice, for once," Mwezai smiled smugly.

She sighed and shook her head, "Foolish child… I still do not understand what you are seeking, Moonlight. Revenge? A chance to prove yourself? I don't see what there is to prove."

"You could never understand," he frowned and glanced out the train's window, "If you had understood what I feel, what this is like for me, you would never have told me in the first place. Because you want to hold on to me and tell me what to do, but not this time, Sakira. This one time, I'm going to reach my goal. You can try to stop me, you can follow me or choose not to, but either way, I am not turning back now."

The woman watched him silently for another moment, then smirked, "You know I follow you wherever you go, Moonlight, as you have always followed me. Besides, you can not do this on your own. You never could bear to be alone."

"No, Sakira," his brownish green eyes turned to meet her dark ones once again, "It is you who are the weak one. It is you who can not bear to be alone, as it always has been."

'Next Stop, Dollet. Next Stop, Dollet. All passengers please get ready to leave the train.'

She gave him one last, angry look before standing and promptly leaving. Mwezai chuckled to himself as he followed her, "The fun is about to begin…"

**Chapter 4:**

** **

"Whoo-hoo, they're HERE!!!"

There wasn't a single person in Trabia Garden who did not recognize that voice. Some were amused by the sight, others – the new students, mainly – were surprised, and others again, annoyed. Their Headmistress was excited about something again. The fact that the Garden was so well-organized and the students so skilled, though, never ceased to amaze Squall. One thing he had not expected when Selphie was given this job, was total success.

The young woman sprinted to the front gate and threw her arms around Rinoa's neck immediately, hugging her tightly, only to do the same to Squall in the next second. Discreetly, he pushed her away, "It's so great to see you guys!" Selphie said excitedly, smiling broadly.

"It's good to see you too, Selphie," Rinoa replied with a smile.

Cute. It was the word that described Selphie the best. She had matured, though, and beneath her sweet surface was a strong woman who knew when she needed to be serious and take action. The difference that separated her from other Headmasters was that she was never serious unless she had to, and the students were never afraid of having a friendly conversation with her, but at the same time they respected her greatly.

Her hair had grown longer over the years, reaching down to just below her shoulders, but the tips still had a bouncy curl. The short dress had been replaced by a longer, yet sun yellow dress, which suited her nicely.

"Aunt Rinoa! Dawn!" a young girl's voice echoed through the halls, and the four of them – Selphie, Rinoa, Squall and Dawn; who was standing shyly behind her parents, – turned to face the approaching child.

Likoya was a perfect mixture of her mother and father. The 8 year old female had inherited Irvine's dark blue eyes and his charm, but also Selphie's spunky nature and her chestnut hair, which was neatly pulled up in two ponytails on the top of her head. Dawn's face lit up as the other girl lunged at her, giggling happily, "Haven't seen ya in like, forever!"

Selphie cleared her voice, "Likoya, we have two other guests too, you know!"

"Oh," the girl smiled and whirled around to hug the black haired Sorceress' waist, "Hi, aunt Rinoa!" she looked up at Squall, her expression quickly changing to one of almost fearful respect, "Hi, Mr. Leonhart."

Squall sighed and rolled his eyes. (Do I look that intimidating…?) Likoya had called him that ever since he had told her he didn't appreciate being referred to as 'Unca Squall'.

"Howdy, Leonharts," Another voice joined them. While Selphie's hair had become longer, Irvine had cut his hair shorter than Squall's, and gotten rid of the cowboy outfit. He looked more like a true commander, dressed in his SeeD uniform as he paced towards the gathering. The attitude and the sly smile, however, were the same.

"Trying to impress the female students, Irvine?" Squall asked with a faint smirk.

"I don't have to try anything to do that," Irvine snickered. Selphie frowned and punched his shoulder playfully.

"Momma, can I show Dawn around? Please? Pretty please?" Likoya asked, tugging at Selphie's dress.

"Sure, honey," Selphie answered, "Oh, Rinoa, I have got to show you how wonderful our new Quad turned out after we rebuilt it! It's almost as pretty as Balamb Garden's, now."

"That's boring stuff!" Likoya exclaimed and grabbed Dawn's arm, "Come on, Dawn. I'll take you on a tour a la Koya!" she said as she dragged the quiet girl off, although a smile was at Dawn's lips.

"Stay away from the Training Center, young lady!" Irvine shouted after them. Selphie had already convinced Rinoa to come with her to the Quad, and the two males were left alone by the Garden's entrance. Irvine looked at Squall and shook his head, grinning, "Women…"

"Yeah, whatever," Squall smirked still as he started walking down the hall, Irvine following him.

"How are things going, Squall?" the SeeD commander asked. It still felt somewhat strange for him to look upon Squall as a normal civilian instead of commander and headmaster, even though it had been over 10 years since he quit SeeD.

"Rinoa is teaching Dawn how to use the blaster edge," Squall said simply, "With all these monsters still wandering around everywhere, she has to learn to protect herself."

Irvine nodded, "Of course. Likoya has started to train to become a SeeD… Seems like she's got Sefie's nunchaku skills," he paused as Squall seemed to have lost interest. He never quite understood Squall – he had everything he could ask for, with a loving family and permanent support from both Garden and Esthar after what he did for the world 17 years ago, yet he never seemed completely happy or content whenever Irvine saw him. Perhaps it was just his imagination, though. Squall had never known to be a very openly cheerful person, anyway.

"So… Going back to Esthar anytime soon?" he said, in a vain attempt to start a conversation. Squall, who had been watching the floor as they walked, looked up at the other man.

"Next week."

"How… um… How are you getting along with your father?" Irvine asked nervously.

Squall stopped, narrowing his eyes for a moment, then he actually smiled – a sarcastic smile, but a smile nonetheless, "I still dislike it when you call him my 'father'. But I guess I tolerate him. And Dawn is very fond of him, obviously… God knows why."

Deciding against pushing the subject any further, Irvine made a turn, heading towards the cafeteria, "Well, feeling up for a hot cup of Trabia Garden's coffee?"

Glad to let the subject rest, too, Squall nodded, "Sounds good."

**Chapter 5:**

** **

"…and just as they all thought we were doomed, I rushed forward and delivered another series of punches to the Ruby Dragon. It threw its head up, opening its mouth and showing off all the deadly, sharp teeth… I was sure it was going to kill me," pausing for effect, Zell grinned slightly at the wide-eyed expressions of the children gathered in front of him. They literally held their breath as they waited for him to finish the story.

"But then, suddenly, the crack of a whip distracted it! Now its attention was on my friend, Quistis. The dragon roared in fury and turned around to give Quistis a taste of its fiery breath. As it was already weakened by my powerful attack, though, all I needed to do was cast a Blizzaga spell on it, just as it was about to attack the dear instructor. And so the huge beast was defeated, and we were safe once again. The others sure were lucky I was there! Umm… The end."

"Tell 'nother stowy, unca Zell!" one of the small children said.

"YEAH!" the others screamed in unison. Zell was a hero to the youngsters at the orphanage, a role-model. They all loved to hear about his adventures from when he was still in SeeD, and whenever he told a story, he had their complete attention. Far more interesting than any of the fairy tales Edea told them.

"Hmm, well…" Zell rubbed the back of his head, "There was this one time-"

"Zell! Zell!!" It was Bella's voice, from inside the house, and she sounded angry. Wincing, Zell slowly stood up and called back.

"Coming, dear! …Sorry, kids. Another time, okay?"

"Awww," the children pouted. Edea, who was sitting on a bench below one of the flower garden's trees, smiled softly as she watched the disappointed little ones. She knew how to cheer them up. She was an aging woman, now, her long raven hair marked with stripes of silver. Yet, despite her age, she still maintained that exotic beauty she possessed as a sorceress. After Cid had passed away a couple of years earlier, Edea had been quite lonely and depressed for some time, but the children never failed to cheer her up. This was the kind of life she preferred – that she always had preferred – feeling she was making up for the terror she caused while controlled by Ultimecia, by doing so much good for these children who needed it so badly.

"I know what to do. Let's go down to the beach and look for sea shells. Or you could play ball if you want. How does that sound?"

The seven children's faces immediately lit up, "Yeah!"

"All right!"

"Matwon's da best!"

"Last one's a ruby dwagon!"

They ran through the garden and ahead of Edea, as she followed her children as quickly as she could, chuckling quietly to herself. 

Stepping inside the orphanage's main building, Zell gazed over at his wife who was standing by the other side of the room, her arms crossed and her foot tapping the floor. Next to her was their son, who was staring shamefully at the floor. It wasn't exactly the kind of homecoming Zell had expected – or rather, hoped for. Great way to start the weekend.

"Robbie, what did you do this time? Sneaked into the ladies' wardrobe again?" he asked, half-smirking.

"He failed another test," Bella said curtly.

"What? A written one?" Zell looked at Robbie in surprise. The boy was almost always reading something, either school work or other books, and always had a perfect score at the theory tests. That was one trait he had from his mother, that was for sure.

"No," Robbie admitted quietly, " …Instructor Trepe had to save me in the training center again… This grat was being really nasty and I… sorta… got cold feet," the 12 year old boy rubbed his gloved hands nervously. He wanted so badly to be like his father, but lacked the same courage in battle. Zell studied his son thoughtfully. He had light blonde hair, though less spiky than Zell's, and had Bella's coffee brown eyes. Somewhat short for his age, but strong. Taking in a breath, Robbie continued.

"Instructor Trepe says that if I fail another battle test, I'll have to leave Garden… She says I have the skill, but… I just can't fight alone, I guess…"

Bella sighed and shook her head a little, flopping down on a chair with a defeated expression on her face. A SeeD who couldn't stand on his own feet? That would never work.

Zell narrowed his eyes and stepped over to Robbie, kneeling in front of him and putting a hand on his shoulder, "Son, SeeD isn't the only thing that matters in the world, you know. But if you really wanna do it, go for it. I failed a lot of written tests, but I still became a SeeD."

"…Only because I helped you study," Bella mumbled.

Robbie nodded faintly, "I know, dad… Instructor Trepe wants to give me another chance. She says that the next time a fairly small mission comes up, I can go with her and the other SeeDs to practice. Y'know, just sorta hang in the background… But help out in small battles and such."

"Well, there ya go!" Zell said, grinning, "You'll do fine. Quistis is a great instructor. If she can't teach ya to fight, nobody can."

Smiling weakly, Robbie nodded again. Bella, however, wasn't quite so pleased. Despite how professional Quistis was, Bella knew she did this because Robbie was Zell's son. Under normal circumstances, a SeeD cadet would never be brought along on a mission, as a possible burden – or even worse – to fall in battle. Even if Bella didn't doubt Quistis would make sure Robbie was safe, she still was worried. Worried, and offended that Quistis would treat their son differently from the other students. These thoughts remained unspoken as she watched father and son walk out into the garden to train their martial arts. She could only hope that either Robbie would become a successful SeeD, or realize it wasn't meant to be before it was too late…


	2. Chapters 06 - 10

**Chapter 6:**

** **

"It's too bad that you have to leave already," Selphie pouted, "A week goes by so fast!"

Rinoa smiled lightly, "We'll visit again soon.I really love being here.It sort of reminds me of Balamb Garden, only it's not as big… and looks more… I don't know… friendly."

The headmistress grinned brightly at that, "Yes, isn't it?I love Balamb Garden and all, but… Trabia is my home, you know?This is where I lived most of my life.Don't think I ever wanna move again."

"You're lucky, Selphie," the sorceress sighed, "You have a home, you always know where you belong…"

Selphie seemed confused.She glanced around the hall for a minute, noticing Irvine talking with some students nearby, while Likoya was chatting with Dawn.Squall hadn't arrived yet.Lowering her voice, she looked back at Rinoa, "What do you mean?"

Rinoa looked down at her feet, almost regretting she had said anything, because it was something she hadn't shared with anyone else before, "Oh," she paused, still staring at the floor, "It's just that, for the past 10 years, we've been traveling from place to place, visiting all our friends…Not that I mind, but I miss having somewhere to go back to.Somewhere to stay, a home…"

Nodding slowly, Selphie realized what it must be like for Rinoa.She had never considered it before, but it was true that the three of them hadn't stayed anywhere permanently ever since Squall left Garden.It must have been tiring to live that way for 10 years, "Shouldn't you talk with Squall about it?"

"I've tried," Rinoa smiled faintly, looking a bit defeated, "He doesn't say much, except that he wants Dawn to 'see the world'.But I think she needs somewhere to live, too.She never complains, but she's never known anything else.… I'd really like to live in Esthar.It's such a beautiful city, all the people there are so friendly… Ellone is really nice, too.Dawn just loves visiting her.But…," she trailed off.

"Laguna, huh?" Selphie asked.At some point, she had stopped referring to him as 'Sir'.

Rinoa looked up, "Exactly.I can't really blame Squall.I mean, I'd go insane from staying with my father for more than a couple of weeks.But Laguna is so kind, I can't see why-"

"Ready to go?" Came a voice from behind the two women, and they turned to see Squall walking towards them.Rinoa nodded mutely, then waved a hand at the two girls.

"Dawn!We're leaving now."

Dawn looked over at her mother and sighed, before looking back to her younger friend, "I gotta go.We're going to visit Grandpa and Aunt Ellone in Esthar," she smiled, "It's really nice there.It's too bad you can't come with us."

Likoya hung her head, "Aw, no fair.You always get to go all these cool places.I always have'ta stay here, 'cause momma and daddy are always busy with SeeD stuff."

Shrugging, Dawn started to walk towards her parents, "It's not that great.You get sick of riding those special planes from Esthar pretty quickly."

"I've never even been on one!"

As they came up to the adults, Selphie smiled and bent down to give Dawn a hug, "It was great having you here!Visit soon again," she said.

"We will," Rinoa reassured.

After a few more goodbyes and hugs, the three Leonharts were on their way out.Irvine and Selphie smiled at each other, then walked back into the Garden to continue with their work, "Come on, Likoya."

"Coming," the girl replied absently, watching as Dawn and her parents walked outside.A mischievous grin crossed her face, and, after making sure her mother and father were out of sight, she headed towards the main entrance.

"These Estharian clothes look so ridiculous," Mwezai muttered under his breath as he and Sakira walked down the streets of Esthar.The older woman was offering faked smiles to the citizens that were passing by, ignoring the complaints.

"You were the one who wanted to go here.Unless you want to attract attention, you'll just have to get used to it."

Rolling his eyes, Mwezai turned and looked towards the Presidential Palace in distance, placing his hands on his hips, "Beautiful, isn't it?Makes the one in Deling look like a small cabin."

Sakira gave him a concerned glance, "Don't get your hopes up, Moonlight.I know what you're after, but I still don't see how-"

"They'll be here today, Sakira.In just a couple of hours, they'll arrive, and that's when we make our move," Mwezai took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Today is my day of triumph.No more suffering, no more using my sword skills on useless monsters to earn a few gil."

She said nothing, and only followed his gaze towards the Palace.She was doubtful, as she had been all along.

"Come on," he said, turning again, "I want to be there in good time."

**Chapter 7:**

** **

"Isn't it good to be back?" Rinoa asked as she walked the path from the Esthar Airstation, along with her husband and daughter.She didn't quite manage to actually hide the 'hidden meaning' behind her words.

Squall glanced at her, quiet for a moment, then he shrugged, "Yeah."

Dawn looked at them both and seemed about to say something, but just then they heard a childish voice call from behind them.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Turning around, they saw a little girl run towards them from the Airstation, her ponytails bouncing with each step and her nunchaku in one hand.Squall blinked, but Dawn was smiling in her ever-calm fashion as she approached to meet the younger female, "Likoya!What are you doing here?"

Coming to a halt, Likoya put her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath, "Snuck… aboard… the plane… Had to see this place," straightening herself again, she looked around and grinned, "An' it's way more awesome than you told me it was!"

Rinoa looked at Likoya, at Squall, and back, unsure of what to make of the situation.Squall suddenly waved an arm out to the side, "Likoya, are you out of your mind?!Selphie and Irvine are probably worried sick about you!"

The girl stared at him for a moment, seeming to shrink back a little, "I was only gonna stay for a little while… I'm going back soon."

"You're going back right now," Squall protested.

Dawn noticed Likoya's slightly frightened expression.Putting an arm around her friend's shoulders, she smiled again, "Don't worry.Dad's not nearly as scary as he looks."

Rinoa just couldn't help herself.She put a hand to her mouth and started to giggle as Squall pressed his own hand against his forehead.Likoya seemed amused.Calming herself down, Rinoa lowered her hand and placed it on Squall's arm, "Likoya, he's right.Your parents must be wondering where you are.We'll call them when we get back to the palace, okay?"

"Okay," Likoya was dismayed.She had gone all this way for nothing?Well, not nothing…Esthar sure was a sight, either you were there for an hour or a week.

Dawn took Likoya's hand and started to pull her along, "Now it's my turn to show you around."

Squall shook his head a little as he and Rinoa followed the two girls towards the palace.Rinoa smiled and leant over to kiss his cheek, "Squall… lighten up."

He just looked at her.Then he smiled faintly, still not saying anything, but instead the two of them walked hand in hand the rest of the way.Some things may never change, but some things do.

Mwezai was pacing back and forth nervously in the shadows of the Presidential Palace.Sakira could hardly remember seeing him that anxious before, and in her eyes, the boy was often far too nervous about things for his own good.A couple of guards were starting to give him suspicious looks, and that stopped him.He withdrew to the bench where Sakira was sitting and sat down with a sigh, "They should be here soon."

"I still think this is a mistake," she replied, without looking at him, "You do, of course, realize that the Sorceress may become a big problem?One swipe of her hand and you might well be a goner…" Sakira couldn't help but shudder at the thought.So much power gathered in one person…Even with her fighting skills, she couldn't even begin to imagine what that felt like.And now her boy was going to challenge this woman.The thought frightened… no, terrified her, even though she would never admit it.

"Of course," Mwezai gave her an arrogant look, then pulled out a small bottle from the inside of his jacket.It contained some sort of green fluid, "I bought this in Deling… According to that guy I got it from, even a Sorceress won't be able to resist when this enters her blood… Its effects will work immediately."

"Some guy in Deling… That sure sounds reliable.Let me guess – the drunk guy who always sits at the corner?"

"Spare the sarcasm, Sakira… And trust me, just this once," Mwezai suddenly perked up as four figures came into view, two large and two small, "There they are… Get ready, Sakira.You know what to do."

She still disliked taking orders from the younger man, but didn't comment.Slowly standing up, she studied the approaching foursome, "I thought you said they'd be three…"

"So the kid brought a friend.Who cares?"Holding the bottle in one hand, Mwezai took out a syringe and filled it with the greenish liquid…

They didn't really have time to think or even figure out what happened as two persons suddenly leapt out of the shadows.Squall only registered Dawn's scream as someone violently grabbed her and pulled her away, while he was pushed to the ground.And as he was trying to get up, his hand automatically searching for his gunblade, he could see Rinoa trying to defend herself from a dark haired man.But she didn't have her weapon with her, and before she could throw any spell, he slashed at her stomach with his sword, and she fell to the ground.With another, swift motion, the man injected something into her arm.

(Rinoa!) Running towards them, Squall was ready to attack.The new gunblade was more plain than the last one and lacked the Griever engravings, but it was just as effective.

"I'd advice you to move back," a female voice threatened.Squall's gaze snapped around to see a middle-aged woman holding his daughter, a sword – similar to the one the man had cut Rinoa with – pressed against Dawn's throat, "One step closer, and… this blade might just slip." There was something unreadable in the woman's expression, but Squall didn't have time to figure out what it was.Dawn's eyes were wide and she didn't move an inch, didn't make a sound as she just stared at him, while Likoya was standing in the background, obviously scared out of her wits.Numerous guards were approaching, but all of them kept their distance as they saw that Dawn's life was in danger.

(Damn… I can't get to any of them.What do I do?)

Torn between saving the two persons that mattered the most to him, Squall looked back at Rinoa.She was gasping, clutching her stomach and at the same time struggling to stay awake – A losing battle.Whatever the man had injected into her was far more dangerous than the wound.She seemed unable to heal herself, and Squall didn't have any Cure spells junctioned.

Letting his gaze rest on the man, while not entirely taking his eyes off Dawn and the woman, Squall glared.

(Who are you?)

"What do you want?" He asked aloud, sounding more helpless than he liked.

"You wouldn't understand," was the cold reply.An odd, creepy sense of déjà vu crept up on Squall as he met the other man's eyes.It was as if he had seen those eyes before, somewhere…

"Sq.. uall…," Rinoa said weakly, then her eyes closed as she drifted into unconsciousness.Squall wanted to run to her, but couldn't, as the man walked over to his companion and took Dawn out of her arms.Holding onto her, he swung his sword through the air with his free hand and looked around at the guards.

"I won't kill her.She won't be of any value to me if she's dead.You all think you can just jump at me as soon as we try to escape, but… I doubt Mr. Leonhart would want you to do that," Mwezai gave Squall a sinister look, "For every guard trying to stop me, I will cut her… Not enough to kill her, but enough.Little by little… Maybe give her a scar matching yours, huh?" he chuckled dryly as Squall just stared harshly at him, but then his expression turned deadly serious, "Give her a taste of my life… Pain, fear, struggle."

Sakira seemed just as shocked as everybody else.It was a bitter side of her Moonlight that she had never seen before, "Mwezai…"

"Quiet, Sakira!" he snapped, then paused for a second, "Don't worry, though… Leonhart.You'll see her again.Eventually," Mwezai turned and started to move away quickly, Sakira following him and keeping her sword ready.The guards turned to look at Squall.

He was holding onto the gunblade still, but he didn't move.Hadn't Rinoa been lying there, he would have followed them himself.But if he ordered the guards to pursuit, the captor would, without doubt, hurt Dawn.And he couldn't allow that to happen.What should he do?What could he do?

With great regret, he finally shook his head and then dropped to his knees next to Rinoa.To his relief, she was breathing, though weakly.Medical support was starting to appear and one of the guards informed him President Laguna was on his way.As the news spread, more and more people arrived and the commotion grew.Somewhere, a little girl was sobbing.But it was if he didn't hear any of them, for there was only two things on Squall's mind right then.Taking Rinoa's hand into his own hands, he pressed his lips against it and closed his eyes.

(I'll get her back, Rinoa… Somehow.I don't know what's going on, I don't know who they are or why they were here, but I'll get her back.I'm not going to lose another child.)

Never before had Squall Leonhart been so confused.

**Chapter 8:**

** **

Laguna watched Squall pace back and forth through the room uneasily, very much like he did himself whenever he was nervous.Not that he wasn't nervous now – but obviously someone had to try and remain calm during a situation like this.Of course Laguna was concerned; that was his granddaughter who was kidnapped, his daughter-in-law who was poisoned and his son who seemed to be going out of his mind with worry.Had he only seen it coming, he could have stopped it…But no one knew what would happen before it was too late, and there was no way anyone could have prevented it.At least, that was what the aging President told himself.

Suddenly, Squall stopped and glared at the door that lead to the room where Rinoa was being treated, "Oh, for God's sake!Can't they hurry up?!"

"They're doing what they can, as fast as they can, Squall," Laguna said, shaking his head, "Ward and Kiros have been sending out guards to search the entire area around Esthar, but there's no trace of the kidnappers.Either they have some very quick way of traveling that we don't know about, or they're just very good at hiding."

Squall glanced at the floor and lifted a hand to rub his temples, "Great…Just great."

Ellone was sitting on the couch next to Laguna, with Likoya on her lap.She had spent the last two hours calming the girl down, and the young SeeD cadet had finally stopped shaking and was just enjoying the comfort of Ellone's arms, while watching Squall too.None of them said anything, though Ellone was quietly pitying her younger 'brother'.She knew what her own departure had done to him so many years ago, and she knew all too well that Adrian's death was probably keeping him from being as pleased with his life as he could have been, by far.If he lost Rinoa and Dawn as well…Ellone didn't even want to think about what would happen to him.

The door opened and one of the Estharian Doctors stepped out.The expression on his face could mean anything, and Squall waited anxiously for the news, not knowing what to expect, "Well…?"

"We have stabilized her and stopped the effect of the poison, as well as healing her wound," the Doctor explained, "But I'm afraid she's still unconscious.It can go both ways from here."

(Both ways…)

"What… what exactly did they do to her?" Laguna asked, softly.

The Doctor turned to look at the President, "We have analyzed the liquid that was injected into her.Apparently, it is some sort of mixture between poison and a drug, containing Malboro blood, among other things.As it was injected directly into her body, its effects are much stronger than what they would normally be, for example if the poison had been used during a battle.Right now, her life force is quite weak, but she's strong and she is a Sorceress.They don't give up that easily," he finished with a small smile, trying to give them an inch of hope.

Squall didn't buy it, but neither did he dare to think negative thoughts, and tried to dismiss the fact that Rinoa might…No, it was more than enough to know that Dawn was out there somewhere, frightened, maybe hurting, maybe …dead.

Swallowing, he looked at the Doctor again, "Can I… see her?"

"In a minute.We are just getting finished," The Doctor turned to walk back in, but paused for a second, glancing another time at Squall before closing the door behind him.

The room was silent.Squall watched the door for a moment, then leaned against the wall, abandoning the helpless and worried expression on his face and replacing it with his all too familiar, deep frown.

(No time to feel sorry for myself.No time to think about what might happen or might not happen.I can't just stand here.I have to do something.Anything.Where do I start?)

"Squall…," Laguna began.

"I'm going after them," Squall interrupted, pushing himself away from the wall.

The President blinked, "Just like that?Squall, all my guards are working intently to-"

"They're not working good enough!" Squall snapped, struggling to keep his composure, "I have been trained in this sort of thing.Even if it's been a few years, I can do it…"

Ellone shook her head, "Are you sure about that?I don't doubt you in any way, but this time it's… so personal."

(It was personal when I went after Seifer, it was personal when I fought Matron, but that didn't stop me…)

"……"

"Squall…Even if you can handle it," Ellone continued, as if reading his mind, "… You can't do it alone."

"She's right, Squall," Laguna stood up and walked towards his son, placing a hand on his shoulder.Squall fought the sudden urge to shrug the hand off, "I see what you're doing.You're trying to lock yourself up again.But this is about your daughter, and your wife who is in a coma.Do you really think you could take the stress of going after these people alone?Do you really think you could act professional when you finally found them?"

"… I don't believe in revenge."

"When those soldiers took Elle away…," Laguna said, crossing his arms, "I was scared to death they would harm her.But I was also very angry.Very, very angry at those who had taken her, and right then and there I just wanted to hurt them.All of them, the soldiers, Sorceress Adel…I'm glad Kiros and Ward were with me when I searched for Elle.Without their support, I don't think I ever could have saved her…"

Pausing, Laguna tried to meet Squall's gaze, "Look me into the eyes, Squall, and tell me you're not angry.They took her away to hurt you, personally.Tell me you don't feel any spite towards them, tell me you don't feel the slightest bit of lust for revenge."

(Of course I'm angry!What does he want from me?I'm just saying… Oh, whatever.)

"Fine," Squall sighed and started to head out of the room.

"Squall, what about Likoya?" Ellone said just as he was about to leave.

He looked over his shoulder at the two females and shrugged, "I'll call her parents in Trabia.I just need to make another phone call first…"

Balamb Garden was flourishing.Never before had so many students been wanting to join, never before had so many skilled SeeDs graduated.There were almost more of them than what was needed.They worked hard to become as good as – or try to become as good as – the legendary five SeeDs and one sorceress that had once saved the world.And to become the future – the knowledge of SeeD having to fight Sorceress Ultimecia someday and be defeated didn't seem to discourage them.

The phone rang in Headmistress Xu's office.Somewhat annoyed, the 38 year old woman looked up from her paperwork. There weren't many people who had the number to her private phone – most of them had to call her secretary first instead of calling Xu directly, "Balamb Garden, Headmistress Xu's office.This better be important."

"Xu," said a weary male voice in the other end.

Xu blinked, "Squall…?This sure is a surprise.Is there anything wrong?"

"Xu… I want to hire SeeD."

**Chapter 9:**

** **

"Sakira!Sakira, look! Look!!" the eager boy's voice echoed through the dark, narrow street, making Sakira wince as she watched him run towards her with light steps, carrying something in his hands.

"Not so loud, child!Do you want to wake the entire neighborhood?" she hissed as he caught up with her, "What is it?"

The 10 year old Mwezai looked at his caretaker for a second, then held up his prize.It was an old jewelry box, worn and worthless, but the red and blue plastic stones still gave it a certain charm, "Took it all by myself from an old lady.She almost caught me, but I outran her!What do you think?" he asked, obviously quite proud of himself.

The young woman took a brief glance at what he had stolen, then snapped it out of his hands.Opening it, she found that the jewelry box was empty, apart from a necklace that was just as fake as the box itself, "An old lady, huh?Let me guess: A poor, old lady?"

"Well… I guess she wasn't all that rich, but-"

"Then why did you take this?Can't you see it's worth nothing to us?Tell me why you took it," Sakira's voice grew sharper.

The boy seemed confused, "I… dunno.It was so easy, the door was open and it was just on the table inside.Practice?"

Sakira suddenly slapped his face.Hard.Stumbling back in surprise and pain, Mwezai stared at her with wide eyes."If you're going to steal, then steal something we can use!You never, ever steal for 'practice', understand?!"

"But…," Mwezai began, choking on his own words.Tears started to well up in his eyes, more out of disappointment than anything.He had thought she would be happy.Proud of him.

Sakira angrily flung the box against the ground, and it shattered into pieces, "If anything, this box' only value was as a memory to that lady.Now it's gone," whipping out her sword, she started to walk down the street, "We need gil, Moonlight, or something we can sell.Nothing else."

He didn't move, but watched the broken jewelry box on the ground while wiping away his tears.

"Stop whining," Sakira ordered, pausing and looking back at him, "You don't know how lucky you are to have me around.I was already on my own when I was your age, and I had to learn everything the hard way.Consider this incident as a valuable lesson, Moonlight: You never steal without a purpose."

As the sun rose in the east, its brilliant red light reflected by the clear sea water, three lonely figures were walking the old railroad track that stretched from Galbadia to Esthar, only broken by the city of Fisherman's Horizon in the middle.

A fairly young man was walking ahead of the two others, the breeze gently ruffling his bangs of dark brown – almost black – hair.He watched the seemingly endless path ahead of him with narrowed eyes, not speaking a word.

The older woman was behind them both, looking around occasionally with a mixture of curiosity, concern and doubt.And between them was a young girl, following her captor without complaints, not mentioning how tired, hungry, cold and frightened she was.Her expression could have said it all, if anyone had bothered to look.

Sakira could see the slumping shoulders for the child, she could see her shuddering, but she did not really care.Or at least, she didn't want to care.Either way, this girl was just an object to help her Moonlight reach his goal, and Sakira would not do anything to stand in his way.

Things were different now.She couldn't control him anymore, not the way she once had.This new determination he had… It made her follow him instead, it made her feel like she was the one being controlled and ordered around now, and she asked herself why she didn't try to stop it.She asked herself why he had never shown this side of himself before.

It wasn't that hard to answer.This time, it was his own goal he was fighting for, and not one of hers.Still, she thought his way of doing it was foolish, but he didn't take her advice any longer.And why she followed him…That was simple.She had dedicated her life to Mwezai – There was no turning back now, not even under these circumstances.

She could only follow.Follow and hope.

The girl's feet dragged.

(Dad…Why don't you come and save me?Is mom all right?They hurt her…So tired… What do they want with me?Why did they take me away?I'm scared, dad…)

All of a sudden, she stumbled and fell flat on the track.She started to get up, but didn't really feel like standing again.They would only walk further, and further, away from her parents and everyone she knew, everyone who could save her. Walk and walk, until she was too exhausted to walk any more.Walk and walk, to where?The stubborn side of her didn't want to give up, but at the same time, it didn't want to give in to those who kidnapped her.And thus, Dawn didn't rise.

Mwezai turned around, annoyed, "What are you waiting for, kid?Get up!"

Sakira placed a hand on her hip and sighed, "Moonlight, maybe we could take a short break…"

"No, that's far too risky.We have to get to FH and steal a boat or something as soon as possible to get away from this place.Dear Mr. Leonhart is going to send soldiers all over the place soon, despite what the 'peaceful' people at FH say," Mwezai walked over to the fallen girl.

"Didn't you hear me?I said, get up!"

Dawn didn't reply.She only closed her eyes tightly, hoping that if she wished badly enough, they would go away and leave her alone.Of course, she knew that wouldn't happen.

"For being the daughter of the mighty Leonharts, you sure are a wimp," Mwezai growled.Leaning down, he grabbed the girl's arm firmly and abruptly pulled her back up.Dawn felt as if he was going to rip her arm off and shrieked in pain.

"When I say get up, you do get up, understand?!I'm in charge here, and even if I don't kill you, I can do some rather unpleasant things if you don't listen.So, Dawn, I advice you to do as I say and walk."

Dawn stared up at him, not knowing what emotion was the strongest: Fear, or the growing hatred for this man.

"… Oh, the president is going to adore you."Sakira muttered.

Mwezai let go of Dawn's arm, his attention snapping to Sakira, "What did you say?!"

"Moonlight, you know better than to threaten me.Right now, you're the one slowing us down, and you were the one who wanted to get to FH as soon as possible," Sakira smirked slyly, "Maybe you should take your own advice, for once."

He glared at her for a second, then turned and started to walk again without saying anything else, and Sakira chuckled quietly to herself.Dawn followed, reluctantly, and unlike what her father would, she was not trying to fight back the tears that threatened to come.

**Chapter 10:**

** **

She was lying so still, she looked too unnatural for being asleep, but yet too alive to be dead.Despite the slightly unkempt hair and the pale face, she was – in his opinion – as beautiful as ever.The passing of years had left her more matured, with a few, soft lines in her skin that weren't there before.Her brownish-black hair was longer, and her features were those of a woman instead of those of a girl, but it didn't matter.To him, she was still the same, still his angel, still the one he felt he had to protect, even though her Sorceress powers had developed far beyond his own sword skills.He had failed to protect her, last night – he had failed to be her Knight like he had quietly sworn he always would be.

Now she was lying there, without a movement, without a sound, and the doctors did not dare promise him she would live.If her body started to look for a successor to her powers, then their fears would be confirmed.

Kneeling next to her bed, he gently stroked a hand through her hair.It felt so wrong.How many times did he have to watch this happen?Hadn't he been through enough?So selfish, thinking thoughts like that, but he just couldn't help it.Feeling sorry for himself was the last thing he needed right then.Self-pity would get him nowhere, and would help neither Rinoa nor Dawn.

(Rinoa, I want to hear your voice…)

Letting his hand slip down her cheek, he watched her for another moment, then sighed heavily and leaned his forehead against the bed.Hadn't this already occurred a long time ago?When she was lying lifeless in Balamb Garden's infirmary; when he carried her limp body across the railroad track from Fisherman's Horizon.When he revealed bits and pieces of his secrets to her even when she couldn't really hear them.And when her possessed soul had dragged her out into space, leaving both of them mere inches away from death, and both surviving only because of incredible luck. Horrible mental images flashed before him as he remembered his experiences from the Time-Compressed world.Rinoa, in space, her helmet broken, the two rings floating in the open nothingness before her… only held back by the chain.He clenched his fist, trying to make the memories go away.Though no Guardian Force could ever make him forget.

They had been through so much together, she had brought him so much good, but it wasn't enough.

(17 years… We've been together for 17 years, Rinoa.It's not enough.I want another 17 years, and another.I don't want it to end now.Not here, not like this.It can't end now.)

(Dawn…Is she even still alive?She has to be.She must be.I don't think I ever told her straight out I love her, did I?Neither did I tell you…I didn't think it was necessary.What does words matter, anyway?……I'll tell her when I find her.I have to find her.It can't be…Adrian all over again.)

He suddenly wanted to just hit something.He wanted to grab his gunblade and go out to the battlefields, randomly killing monsters like he used to in Balamb Garden's training center.It was his way of letting out frustrations.Yet he hadn't done that in many years now.

(You're the only one I could ever really talk to, Rinoa.I need to talk.I need to hear your voice, I need to know that you listen…Maybe you didn't always know why I felt the way I did, but you always try to understand.You were always there to talk whether I wanted to or not.You can't leave me now…)

……

"Hey, Squall?"

He lifted his head to look towards the door, where Ellone was peeking inside.

"You should come.They're here, waiting for you in Uncle Laguna's office.Irvine, too.I told him he should get Likoya back to Trabia, but he insists on helping you out."

"I'm coming," Squall rose from his place by Rinoa's bed and walked towards the brown haired woman in the door.Ellone noticed the lack of determination in his face, and it concerned her.He looked so tired.No wonder, considering he hadn't slept for two days, but the will to fight seemed to have left him.

"Squall…," she said softly as he was about to leave, "You will find her.I'm sure of it.Just don't give up."

He paused and looked at her, then nodded faintly, "Thanks, Sis."

Ellone smiled faintly and gave him a quick hug, then urged him towards the door, "Go now."

"But I wanna come!I wanna help Dawn, too!"

The angry shouts could be heard far down the hall from the President's office.Squall didn't have any problems figuring out who the voice belonged to.

"Likoya, dear, you're not old enough-"

"-But I wanna help!Daddy, please, please… Please, let me come?"

"There will probably be a lot of fighting, and that's not safe for little girls like you.Don't you want to stay here in Esthar instead, where you're safe?" That was Laguna's voice.

"I don't have'ta listen to you!"

"Likoya!"

(She's Selphie's, all right…)

Everyone went quiet when Squall entered, and he looked around to those gathered.Laguna, Irvine and Likoya were there, of course, the two latter glaring slightly at each other.In another corner of the room, Quistis was standing, along with two Balamb Garden students.The young male SeeD cadet Squall recognized as Zell and Bella's son Robbie, but the slightly older female he did not remember.The tension in the room was obvious – none of them really knew how to behave in his presence right then.

"It's good to see you again, Squall," Quistis said in a cool, but friendly tone.She would have smiled, but it didn't seem appropriate, "Although I wish it had been under better circumstances. When I heard what happened, I went to Xu right away and talked her into letting me lead this mission."

It had been a while since he last saw her – In fact, Rinoa and him hadn't visited Balamb Garden in almost two years.Quistis had grown from a beautiful young woman into a even more beautiful, matured woman.She was dressed in her SeeD uniform, her long, strawberry blonde hair flowing over her shoulders – she had stopped pulling it back some time ago.There was no other SeeD Squall respected and trusted more than Quistis, but the two she had chosen to come with her made him a little doubtful, "Thank you for coming," he replied, simply.

"There won't be any problems," Quistis continued, as if she could sense Squall's concerns, "Irvine will help us too, and I have brought one of the best, new SeeDs in Garden," she nodded towards the girl next to her, who still didn't say anything, "I hope you don't mind that Robbie came with us.He needs the practice," she sighed.

Robbie looked at his feet, shamefully.Squall frowned.

(This isn't the time and place for 'practice'…)

He noticed Quistis' hesitation for introducing the other SeeD.Studying her, Squall was surprised to see a gunblade strapped to her belt.She seemed to be about 15 or 16 years old,her pale blonde hair was shoulder length and slightly curly, and her eyes were sea blue.Rather pretty.But her expression was stone cold.Sterile.Free of any personal thoughts of the situation.

Quistis turned to look at the young female by her side, "She is my best student, Squall.Graduated just a few weeks ago, the fifth SeeD ever to graduate at the age of 15.I trust that she will be of great help on this mission."

Getting tired of the little word game, Squall placed a hand on his hip, "Does she have a name?" he asked indifferently.

The instructor started to say something, but didn't get the chance.The girl stepped forward, a small smirk appearing on her lips, "So I finally get to meet you: The savior of the world, the living legend… Squall Leonhart.Allow me to introduce myself."

She paused, just for good effect, then gave a nod of her head, "I'm Sejia Almasy."


	3. Chapters 11 - 15

**Chapter 11:**

** **

Less than half an hour later, most of them were all gathered around a table in one of the meeting rooms in the Estharian Presidential Palace.Quistis and Laguna were talking quietly, while Sejia was twiddling her thumbs just to demonstrate her boredom.Robbie was giving shy glances to Squall now and then – He had met him before, but that was a while ago now.Besides, it was different this time.It wasn't a friendly visit; he was actually working for his father's friend.Squall himself didn't speak, only stared at the wall of the opposite side of the room with a stiff frown on his face.

Irvine suddenly entered the room, and – not surprisingly – Likoya was still with him. The SeeD Commander cast an apologizing look towards Squall, "Sorry.I tried to convince her it wasn't a good idea, but…"

Squall rolled his eyes slightly.Irvine had about as much control of Likoya as he had of Selphie, which wasn't much.The young girl grinned and promptly pulled another chair over to the table, sitting down.

"Can we begin now?" Quistis asked, with a hint of annoyance in her voice.Without waiting for a reply, she continued, "President Loire has already contacted President Caraway of Galbadia, and as this is concerning his family too, Caraway is willing to help in any way possible.He has sent out several groups of soldiers to search the areas near all the Galbadian cities."

Laguna nodded, "And my guards are still looking thoroughly through the entire continent of Esthar, although I doubt the kidnappers are hiding here – We would have found them by now if they did."

(Having relatives with power can come in handy at times…) Squall thought with a snort.

"Searching randomly won't do any good," Sejia interrupted.She glanced at the others with an expression that seemed to tell them they were all stupid compared to her.Or maybe that was just something Squall imagined, "Sitting here talking about it won't do any good.We need to find out who they are, where they are, what they look like and what they want."

"Straight to the point, huh?" Irvine whispered as he leaned closer to Quistis.

She smirked, "She does remind me of Seifer at times," she paused for a second, then added, "Or Squall."

Clearing her voice, Quistis looked back to the others, "Yes, of course.Squall, you were there when the kidnapping of Miss Leonhart occurred.What do you remember about them?Names, looks, anything that could help us?"

Squall glared at her, briefly, without really intending to do so.(I know the procedure, Quistis.I hired SeeD only because I… can't do it alone.)Squall almost wondered if bringing Seifer's daughter was some sort of bizarre joke, but he knew Quistis never would do that.SolemnQuistis would never play a joke like that.And besides, he wasn't the kind of person to judge anyone by who they were related to. At least he didn't want to be.

"A middle-aged woman… Dark hair and eyes, moderate height.A younger and taller man, also with dark hair.Nothing special.Although the woman looked…," Squall searched for the right word to describe it, "Foreign, in a way.I didn't get a very good look at them," he sighed quietly.He truly despised feeling this helpless, and useless.

"You did catch their names, right?" Laguna asked gently.

"I think so, but only their first names.The woman was referred to as 'Sakira', and the male was called…," he struggled to pronounce the word, "…Mwezai, if I'm correct.Your guess as to how to spell it is as good as mine."

"And that's it?" Sejia spat, "That's all we have to go by?We have no idea what direction they went off to? Nothing?"

The room was dead silent.Likoya kicked with her legs idly and muttered; "Bummer."Squall put a hand to his forehead.

"It's highly unlikely that they were from Esthar," Laguna said, eventually.

"Robbie, any suggestions?" Quistis turned her eyes to the cadet.

Young Dincht blinked and looked up, "Who?Me?" he bit his lip, nervously, seeming to be thinking hard.Sejia looked bored again.

"Identify the enemy," Robbie said after a moment, "Galbadia is – along with Esthar - the largest nation in the world…"

"Very good," the instructor gave him an encouraging smile.

"So we're going to Galbadia?" Irvine asked.

"There are probably some sort of register on the population somewhere," Squall finally gave a bit of his own input, "If President Caraway allows us to access the data, we might be able to find some person files on the kidnappers, although it is unlikely."

The others nodded.Laguna rose from his seat, "I will keep leading the search here.You may use one of our planes to get to Deling City."

"All right!Plane ride!" Likoya exclaimed, but quieted down when she noticed Sejia scowling at her.Irvine didn't even try to argue.

"Galbadia next."With those two words, Squall abruptly ended the meeting.He stood and simply walked out of the meeting room without looking at them again.Quistis gazed after him, with concern, but then turned back to her SeeD team.

"Get ready to meet me at the Airstation ASAP.Remember to bring your weapons and have GFs and magic available should we need them," she gave a determined nod, "We are going to get Squall's daughter back."

**Chapter 12:**

** **

The Estharian private planes were, without doubt, one of the most exclusive ways of traveling.There were two separate rooms for the passengers, and not surprisingly, Squall used the opportunity to be as little social as possible.Quistis wouldn't allow him the solitude this time, though.Even if she knew that Rinoa was the only person he'd really talk to, she was not going to let him lock up completely again during his wife's absence.

She found him looking out of the window, and she could easily see through his seemingly calm posture, knowing how impatient he really was.Quistis sat down on one of the chairs, placing her hands neatly on her lap, then cleared her voice.He had noticed her arrival, so she felt he could at least look at her.

Turning half-way around, Squall glanced at her.The instructor offered him a slightly forced smile, but a well-meaning one, nonetheless, "How are you feeling?"

She was quite sure he would glare at her for asking such a stupid question, or just ignore her like he usually did.He didn't do either, but simply shrugged without really replying, "Yourself?"

Quistis blinked at him, and considered the question for a moment.She hadn't expected him to ask – he hardly ever did – and she still didn't expect him to care if she did answer.She cared about him, of course, but the years had more or less pulled them apart.Each of them had their own lives now – as did Selphie, Irvine and Zell, some still within SeeD and others not.Some with children and others not… Actually, out of the 'gang' they had been years ago, Quistis was the only one who had remained unmarried.Sighing softly, she shook her head, "… I could go talk to a wall if I'm bothering you."

His eyes hardened for a second.He couldn't believe she still remembered that, and that she would hold it against him now out of all times.And she was equally surprised to see him remember.Turning back to the window, he changed his voice to bear an icy touch now, "… Forget it."

"I'm sorry," Quistis said immediately, standing up and walking over to him, "I just wish you would… talk to me.Holding it inside without sharing it with someone won't help.I believe that's what I told you that night in the training center, too."

When Squall still refused to reply, Quistis continued, "You asked me how I was doing.If you really want to know, then I'll tell you."She took one step closer, then leaned against the wall close to him, forcing him to at least look at her out of the corner of his eye even if he was still staring out the window."I broke up with my fiancée half a year ago.You know, the instructor I had been seeing for almost two years?" She glanced at the floor as the painful memories returned to her, "It's the fourth relationship that went wrong for me, and I'm starting to wonder if I'm truly meant to be alone.I'm lonely, Squall.It hurts me to see all of you being happy with your families while I still don't have anything but my job in Garden to turn to.I hate it when I see you like this and have no comprehension of how you feel because I don't have what you have, and I can't understand what it is like to fear you'll lose the family you love the most."

She bit off her next words, looking up at Squall again to see his reaction.Just any facial expression would do; just come evidence of even a hint of care.Even after all these years, some of the instructor-student relationship lingered between her and her friends, and she dreaded it.

(Look at me, Squall… Just show me that you consider me a friend.I know there's a human being somewhere inside that hard shell, someone who Rinoa gets to see every day.)

She didn't demand any smile or every piece of his soul – Only enough trust to reveal a bit of what was on his mind.And Squall didn't look out the window with the mask of indifference anymore.He looked back at her, and she was wondering if that actually was… sympathy she saw.

(You don't know how lucky you are, Quistis… Believe me, you do not want to feel what I feel right now.)

"I'm sorry," he said, repeating her previous words.She cracked him another faint smile, but quickly turned serious again.

"I've told you how I feel.Return the favor?"

"……" Squall shook his head, "I don't have anything to say."

"Are you going to pretend like you're doing fine?Your wife and daughter are in life threatening situations.You're totally cool with this?Are you that confident?" Quistis pressed.She knew he hated it when she did that, but she was hoping to trigger something.He couldn't walk away from her while they were in the air; the other room was occupied by Irvine and the younger Garden members.

(Can't you just leave me alone?You're not going to make me feel better!)Squall placed a hand against the window and looked outside once again with a harsh expression, though there was nothing to look at but the clouds passing by.

Quistis' eyes narrowed even more, and her tone was not gentle as she asked again, "Squall, are you okay?"

And he snapped around to face her, swinging out an arm in anger, "No, I'm NOT okay, all right!!?What do you want from me?To tell you that I'm scared to death of losing them and that I'm so incredibly pissed off at whoever did this, and at the same time frustrated because I don't know what the hell to do?Is that what you want to hear?!"

He had to catch his breath after saying everything without pausing, and the two of them merely stared at each other for a moment.Quistis' eyes were soft now.

"Yes," she said quietly, "That is exactly what I wanted to hear."

Sejia rocked back and forth on her chair, her boots planted against the table in front of her.Irvine watched her with a tilted eyebrow.Lack of manners seemed to be something running in the Almasy family.Even though Irvine had never known Seifer very well, he knew what he had done, and was quite surprised himself that Quistis would bring their former enemy's daughter along on a mission like this.

Likoya was standing by a window, jumping up and down to actually be able to look out the window.Like her mother, she was not particularly tall for her age, "I just love planes!" she cheered.

"You love anything that moves, Likoya," Irvine said with a chuckle.

Robbie was sitting on the chair beside the chair next to Sejia, and the boy seemed constantly nervous in the older SeeDs' company.Like all of his father's other friends, he had met both Irvine and his daughter before, but he couldn't seem to get comfortable in their presence.It wasn't like he really knew them.

Letting the chair stand still, Sejia glanced over at the young cadet.She knew him, probably better than any of the others in the room did.They had been in Garden together for a few years now, and young, unsure Robbie was one of her favorites to pick on.Whenever she was bored, of course.Usually, she had far more important things to attend to, like gunblade training and studying.Despite her unlikable traits, Sejia was indeed an excellent student, and what her father hadn't been able to do she had accomplished: Becoming a SeeD at a young age.

"Hey, Robbie," Sejia said, smugly, "Afraid of heights, or do you just usually look airsick?"

"I'm worried about the mission," the blonde boy answered, without looking at her, "Maybe you should be too.It's your first one."

"Instructor Trepe says you can learn a lot from me," she shrugged, "For one, I don't worry, I try to do something useful instead.Although it's been a boring mission this far.All talk and no play."

"SeeD is about more than battle, Miss Almasy," Irvine commented with a frown.

Sejia rolled her eyes, "Oh yes, of course.'Garden trains children to become SeeD, themercenary military force.Their goal is to defeat the Sorceress, but in the meantime, SeeD may be hired for missions all over the world requiring their skill, including wars, assassinations, spying, searching for lost persons, yadda yadda yadda…' I've heard and read that speech enough to memorize it… Commander Kinneas."

As Irvine still frowned, but didn't say anything else, his silence only encouraged Sejia to continue, "I also remember from the lessons that SeeD getting personally involved with those who hire them is unfortunate.You all seem pretty personally involved with Leonhart to me."

"That's different," Irvine began to explain, "He is an old friend of ours, it would be wrong of us to send someone else to help him when his daughter is-"

He stopped abruptly as they all heard Squall's voice raise in the other room where he and Quistis were.Robbie looked up and even Likoya gave a curious glance towards the door.Irvine, being lightly concerned, stood up.

"Just to prove my point," Sejia smirked, and Irvine was beginning to get fed up with her arrogance.

"This is the pilot speaking," crackled the intercom, "We will be landing outside Deling in 5 minutes.Please fasten your seatbelts."

"Does he think this is a damn holiday trip?" Sejia did stand up from the wooden chair, though, and walked over to the plane seats along with the others.Seconds later, Squall and Quistis emerged from the other room too, none of them saying anything.

Irvine took Quistis' arm as she passed by his seat, "Is everything all right, Quistis?"

She looked back at him, using a finger to straighten her glasses a little, then smiled, "It's better," she said, before continuing forward.Irvine was left behind a little puzzled.

**Chapter 13:**

** **

"Moonlight," Sakira flipped her long, dark hair out of the way as she stepped out on deck, "She's asleep, finally."

He was standing there with his back against her as he maneuvered the small ship, his eyes set on the land that they were heading towards.Giving a single nod, he replied, "Good."

"I've never seen a kid need three sleeping pills before passing out," the elderly woman shook her head, "She may look fragile, but she's more stubborn than a wild chocobo."

"It doesn't matter," Mwezai steered the ship to the beach, and didn't speak again before it stood still.Finally turning around to his former caretaker, he smirked, "She is just a tool, anyway.When I get what I want, I don't care what happens to her.… Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a few things I need to do.Watch the girl."

Leaping down onto the sand, he started to walk up towards the grassy hills that surrounded the Deling area."Be careful!There's soldiers everywhere," Sakira called after him, but he just snorted at her warning.Sighing, she turned and walked back inside.

'Dear mom,

It's the third day of my first mission, and I'm sure you're wondering how I'm doing.To be honest, I'm bored like hell.So far, nothing has happened, and even if both the Estharian and the Galbadian soldiers are searching for the kidnapped girl, they can't find anything.Anything at all, mom.And even for amateurs like them, that's pathetic.Not that we are getting anywhere ourselves – The people I'm working with; I can't believe them.There is Instructor Trepe, all right, and she's the only one doing a real job here.I don't care what dad said about her.She is the greatest SeeD at Garden, in my opinion.Headmistress Xu could have spared a couple more SeeDs to help us, though.All Trepe and I have to work with are two children, and that Commander from Trabia Garden, Irvine Kinneas.I don't like him; he seems to think he knows everything so well just because he's older and 'wiser'.Yeah, right.Like I don't know the only reason he became Commander was because he was in the Ultimecia operation, and not to mention that his wife is Headmistress in Trabia.

The biggest disappointment was our employer, though.Great Squall Leonhart.I hear rumors and stories about him every day in Garden, I see his name on newspapers all the time.He's everyone's idol, it seems.All the male students want to become like him and his friends, and all the female students would kill to be Rinoa Leonhart.But so far, I've seen nothing of the warrior I was told about.Even the things dad said, about his arrogant and snotty attitude weren't true.Leonhart is a… sad character, really.I'm surprised every time he says more than two words at the time.Mostly he just walks around and sulks.I guess it's because of his daughter and wife, but even so, this isn't the hero in everyone's minds.Just shows how much the crowd really knows: Nothing at all.

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to live through this.Hope against hope, it will turn more interesting in the near future.Maybe we will find some new clues soon.I don't know when I'll be able to send a letter again, so please don't worry if you won't hear from me for a while.

Tell uncle Rai that I love him.And say hi to dad.

Sejia'

She closed her eyes for a second, opened them again to read through the letter, then folded the paper neatly and put it into the envelope.

Mrs. Fujin Almasy

576 Coral Street

Balamb

"What are you doing?"

Startled, Sejia whirled around on her chair to see Robbie standing behind her.Narrowing her eyes, she quickly swept the letter out of the younger boy's view, "None of your damn business," she hissed.

"Fine," rolling his eyes, Robbie went back to his own chair and sat down.For what seemed like the umpteenth time during this mission, they were just sitting there, waiting.Waiting in one of the nicely decorated rooms in the Deling Presidential Residence, this time, while Squall and Quistis were speaking with President Caraway.

Irvine was half-asleep in the couch, though the uncomfortable SeeD uniform kept him awake to a certain degree.Likoya seemed to be the only one able to keep herself in constant action.She was jumping about in the room, fighting imaginary enemies with her nunchaku.

A loud crash awoke Irvine, and he found Likoya standing by an empty table, an expensive looking vase lying by her feet, broken in a thousand pieces.She turned to look at him with a wide grin, "Oops."

Robbie looked at Irvine to see his reaction, while Sejia tried hard not to laugh.

(These people are so sad it's amusing… Oh boy.)

Just then, though, Quistis and Squall reentered.Quistis took lead as usual, while Squall lurked in the background, "Good news.President Caraway will allow us to use the population registry on the government's computer system, despite the fact it's strictly confidential.He trusts us to only take the information we need."

She paused, lifting an eyebrow as she noticed the broken vase, but didn't bother to comment, "Sejia, Squall… If you'll please join me."Quistis promptly headed towards the hall, and Sejia got up from her chair, slipping the letter into her pocket as she followed.Sighing quietly to himself, Squall pursued them.

……

"Why does Caraway have all this info on his inhabitants anyway?" Sejia asked as Quistis settled down in front of the computer, punching in a few commands.

"Well, this system was created even before Deling became President.I suppose Dictators need to know everything about the population to more easily… control them, and see who is suited for the army," Quistis looked disgusted, "Squall, what were the names of the kidnappers again?"

"As I said… I only got what I think are their first names," Squall explained, "Mwezai and Sakira."

"How do I spell 'Mwezai'?"

"How should I know?"

Frowning, Quistis took a wild guess.But even after trying all possible combinations of how to type the name that she could think of, there was no result.

"Maybe they aren't even Galbadian.They could be from Timber, or Dollet…," Sejia glanced at Squall, "Or maybe you didn't get the right names."

"I'll try the female's name," Quistis said, "I doubt there are many people called that… Both names are rather… unique."She typed in 'Sakira' and left the line for last name blank.The computer worked for a second, and then the screen shifted to a new page."Perfect," Quistis mumbled and started reading.

"Sakira Ami… Born in Deling City, in the year of 2362…," The blonde instructor narrowed her eyes, "No info on any parents… It says she lived with her grandfather until he died when she was 9 years old.She was placed in a foster home, but ran away, and after that her location has been considered unknown."

Sejia leaned her hands against the table, peering at the computer screen, "That doesn't tell us much.Is this the Sakira we're looking for?"

"Probably," Quistis said, "The year of her birth would mean she's about 50, which matches Squall's description of her."

"Try a search on the Ami family," Squall suggested.

Quistis nodded, and seconds later, new text appeared on the screen, "Anne and Ramjeel Ami.Both died during the war… Probably her parents.And her grandfather… Sedamih Ami.'Old sword master, heroic deeds…' Hmm…" Quistis blinked, "Hey, this is interesting.It appears he was one of the few survivors after the Lunar Cry on Centra."

"……"

"It still doesn't get us anywhere!" Sejia exclaimed, frustrated, "We can search her family tree for hours, but it won't tell us where these people are now.And we have no idea who this other guy who's with her is."

"It's all we have to go by," Squall said somewhat sharply.He knew they were getting nowhere.Having this kid…. Seifer's kid reminding him about it all the time didn't make it any better.

"We have nothing to go by!"

"Then you tell us what to do!What's your suggestion?"

"That we concentrate on searching for living humans instead of their damn grandparents!"

"Stop acting like you're in charge!"

People who worked in the building were starting to give them looks as Sejia and Squall's voices rose.Quistis stood up abruptly, placing her hands on her hips, "Be quiet!Both of you!"

Sejia held her words in, looking at her instructor."Yes'm," she muttered, eventually, "Excuse me, Instructor Trepe."Giving Squall an icy stare, she then turned and walked out of the room.

Quistis sighed, "Squall… I know she's a bit over-enthusiastic, but please don't take it out on her.She's Seifer's daughter.She's not Seifer."

(I know that… That has nothing to do with it.I'm not taking out anything on anyone.I don't care who she's related to, I just don't like the way she works.)Squall pressed a hand against his forehead.(Right?) "… Whatever."

As they both stepped into the hall and Squall left her, Quistis sighed heavily again and leaned her back against the wall.No matter how much she tried to be positive about it; she knew Sejia was right.They were getting nowhere, and as the days passed by and no progress was made, a feeling of dread was starting to creep up on her.Time was running out for Dawn, wherever she was…

**Chapter 14:**

** **

The sun was setting over Deling City, and the streets were becoming dark and uninviting.Circles of smoke slowly rose up to the first appearing stars, fading into the cool evening air.Taking another drag of her cigarette, Sejia leaned against the balcony's edge and watched the action below.

A soldier came running up to a fellow officer, making a quick salute before the two started talking.The former shook his head and shrugged at what obviously was a question while the other made a movement of sighing in dismay, and even though she couldn't hear them, Sejia could easily imagine the conversation.

('Any news on the girl?' 'No, Sir, we still haven't been able to find anything.' 'Damn… The President isn't going to be happy about this.')

"Fools," Sejia flicked her burnt out cigarette off the balcony, and quickly reached for the package in her pocket.She was about to light another when-

"You shouldn't smoke."

Glancing over her shoulder, Sejia found Squall standing in the door, watching her with his usual, cool expression.Giving him a quick, uncaring stare, she then turned back to watch the helpless soldiers and the evening life of the city, lighting her cigarette anyway.

As he walked up to stand by the other side of the balcony, without looking at her or saying anything else, she decided to speak, "Why?Because it's against Garden regulations?"

Squall quietly watched the last hue of pink dissolve behind the horizon of buildings, "No," he said slowly, "Because it's bad for your health."

Turning to him again, Sejia looked at the solemn man before her with a mixture of amusement and surprise on her face.Then, suddenly, she gave a short laugh.Squall shifted his gaze to her, glaring.

"Sorry," Sejia grinned, "It's just that… you reminded me of my old man there, for a second."As Squall's glare turned even harsher, her smile vanished, "No offence to you, of course."

Frowning, the girl concentrated on her cigarette again, studying it carefully while in reality trying to avoid looking at Squall, "He fears that it'll affect my career as a SeeD.Yeah, like I'm going to live long enough to develop lunge cancer anyway.I'm a freaking rental mercenary, for God's sake."

"If that's not what you wanted," Squall made a swift movement with his hand, "Perhaps it's a bit late to realize it now?"

Sejia snorted, "SeeD was my father's dream, not mine," she shook her head, "Being daddy's little girl is just as unappealing as it sounds.He thinks he can live his wasted life through me, that I'll accomplish all the things he wanted to do, but couldn't.I was too young to see it then, and now – Now I can't believe I let him … use me like that-" she paused.Squall was still not sparing a glance in her direction, and didn't even seem to listen."Why the hell am I saying this to you?"

"You tell me."

(… He's starting to creep me out.)

"Why did you even come out here?"

"To enjoy the fresh air?It would have been more effective if you'd put out that," Squall's tone was full of dry sarcasm as he nodded towards her cigarette."Apart from that, Quistis suggested I'd try to get along with those who work for me." (And I agreed just to make her shut up.)

Sejia watched him for another moment, then dropped the cigarette and stepped on it, before folding her arms over her chest, "If it's about earlier, I apologize.I forgot that you were supposed to lead this 'mission'… or should I say 'hopeless search'?"

"If I fire you now, it will leave quite a big scratch in your SeeD rank," was the harsh reply.

She started to say something, but decided against it.Squall's frown was deeper than normal, and she had a feeling he'd actually make reality of his words if she made another bad move.So Sejia simply turned to look out from the balcony again, as night clouds started to gather around the near full moon, "At least this mission served some purpose," she smirked, "Now I can tell Seifer that you still have your scar."

There was a brief pause.

"Does he?"

Sejia nodded, "He still claims he beat you up good that day."

Squall tilted one eyebrow, then frowned again.The two were silent for another while.

"Didn't you have some sort of habit when you were a SeeD?" Sejia asked.

"… Habit?"

"Like me and my smoking…," she ran a hand through her blonde hair, "A way to calm yourself down when you were frustrated.You know, like letting it all go."

"……" Squall lowered his gaze to the ground, "… I used to work out in the training center."

"Running around and killing things?" Sejia grinned again, "Wow, and you say my habit is unhealthy."

Her eyes were a little milder now.Grabbing her gunblade, she suddenly pulled out her weapon and lifted it.Squall blinked, and on pure instinct, he immediately whipped out his own blade.

"There's plenty of monsters in the area around Deling… How about it?No one can be more frustrated than you right now, you need to let some of it go," Sejia winked.

(This definitely isn't Seifer.)

… Squall nodded faintly, "Let's go."

Ellone gently pulled a lock of chestnut hair behind her ear as she sat by Rinoa's bed, clutching the younger woman's hand in her own.She closed her eyes, as if hoping the Sorceress would be awake when she opened them again, her expression one of deep helplessness and sadness.

"They said you were getting weaker, Rinoa…"

Looking again, she took in a breath, "You can't die from us.You can't die from him, do you hear me?It would destroy him completely… break him like I once did… Only a thousand times worse."

Rinoa didn't move.She was like a fairy tale princess caught in a sleeping spell, too alive to be dead, yet too dead to be alive.

Gritting her teeth, Ellone let painful tears slip down her cheeks, "If only I could help…"Squeezing her eyes shut once more, she concentrated the best she was able to, "If only I could…"

Dark blue eyes blinked open… As she tried to move, she found her whole body was aching, and flopped down again with a groan.Only to find herself lying on ice cold, stone hard rock floor.How could she have fallen asleep here?

Then the memories came back to her… The drug… She had been drugged… by her kidnappers…

Forcing herself into a sitting position, Dawn looked around the room in bewilderment.Where was she?The room was dark; floor, walls and ceiling all made out of gray stone bricks.There was an old, near rotten wooden bed in a corner, and a little sunshine peeked in through a window by the other side of the room.

Where on earth was she?

Instantly, the door slammed open, and the sudden burst of light near blinded her.Dawn shrunk back towards the wall, her eyes squinting as she looked up at the dark figure looming above her.

"Did you sleep well?" a deep, intimidating male's voice laughed.Dawn couldn't quite make out his face, still being slightly affected by the drug, though the person was obviously carrying a long sword with him.She knew who he was.

She didn't reply.

Mwezai crouched before her, bringing the blade forward and gently stroking it against her trembling cheek, "Tell me, child… What is so special about your father?"

The girl swallowed, not daring to move an inch, "W-what?"

"I said," the man repeated more firmly, "What… is so special… about your father?"

Dawn closed her eyes quickly.What was he talking about?Her father?What did this man want with her, her father, her family?She couldn't figure it out.

"I… I-I don't know…"

"Everybody worships him!" Mwezai growled, "Haven't you noticed?Everybody – and I mean everybody are out looking for you in this very moment.Because you are your father's daughter.Because you are the granddaughter of not one, but two presidents.Still, I ask you again… What is so special about your father?!"

"I don't know!!" Dawn screeched, immense fear, desperation, confusion, hunger and exhaustion nearly driving her crazy, "I don't know!!! Leave me alone!!"

Without warning, he struck her face so hard she literally was seeing stars.The girl crumpled to the floor in a heap, too scared to even weep.Too scared and in too much pain to do anything but shudder and whimper.

As Ellone's head fell back and she breathed heavily from the exertion, something stirred within the Sorceress.Rinoa's brown eyes went wide open.

"Dawn!"

**Chapter 15:**

** **

The T-rexaur threw its head back and roared, its heavy steps making the ground shake.And there, before the beast, stood the small boy – His brown eyes were huge and terrified, his young face frozen in an expression of horror.Too frightened to move, he could only tremble.

As the monster approached its target, he kept trying to reach his son before it.He kept running and running, as fast as he could, but for some reason, he was stuck.He ran and ran, until his legs felt as if they would collapse beneath him, but still he didn't move from the spot.Couldn't prevent it in time.

In a flash, the scene changed.It was raining.He – No, they were in the training grounds outside Balamb Garden.And as he sprang forward to attack, a bolt of fire struck him, throwing him to the ground.He winced.

(Cheater…)

But as he was about to rise, he saw Seifer's gunblade – sharp and threatening – lunge down, aiming to strike his face.Blue eyes went wide, and he braced himself for the impact-

Rinoa's helmet shattering in space-

Gunblade mere inches from his face-

Ultimecia smiling slyly-

The T-rexaur lowered its neck, snatching up Adrian with a quick motion, its powerful jaws crushing every bone in the small boy's body. The scream-

Blade cutting through flesh-

But it was not Seifer holding the weapon.It was himself, and he stood there watching his fallen opponent on the ground.Her long, dark hair tangled up and covering her face, her slit throat exposed as blood flowed from it.Blood everywhere.The rain pouring down.Dawn was bleeding, and her blood was on his Hyperion… No, on his Revolver-

"NO!!!"

Squall sat upright in his bed, damp with sweat and his breath coming in short gasps.He looked around the room wildly, half expecting to see something jump out from behind a corner, but quickly recognizing where he was.The morning sun shone through the window, in the finest guest room of the Presidential Residence of Deling.

As he realized it had been just a nightmare, Squall finally tried to calm down, but found himself unable to let go of the images.Biting his lip, he covered his face in his palms, shuddering lightly.

(Only a nightmare…)

… But then why was it so real?

There was a knock on the door.Squall pulled on a clean T-shirt, his hair still wet from his shower.

"Squall!It's Quistis.I've got important news."

"What is it?" He asked tiredly as he opened the door, still a bit sore from the night before and not having slept nearly enough.He and Sejia had returned well past midnight after slaying… how many monsters?He didn't remember.

Quistis' expression was serious, and he couldn't read it.Whether there were good news or bad news, he couldn't tell. Squall didn't even dare hope for good news, "Squall, it's about Rinoa."

Rinoa let a single hand slip over the two weapons lying before her.Two Blaster Edges, one being her own Shooting Star, the other being Dawn's Rising Sun… It had been a long time since she actually had fought.Aside from practicing on small, easy monsters like Bite Bugs along with Dawn, it had been years since she last was in a serious battle.A faint, sad smile appeared on the Sorceress' face.

(If it comes down to battle again… Though I hope it won't… I'm going to miss Angelo.)She sighed lightly.None of her sorceress powers could replace the company of having her faithful dog by her side.After Angelo had died nine years ago, she had considered getting a new dog several times, but had dismissed the idea.Squall didn't particularly seem to want another pet, anyway.

"Rinoa."The voice was one trying to sound relaxed, while restraining the urge to call out the name.And Rinoa turned to see a person by the other side of the room, restraining himself from running right up to her and hug her.She spared him the pain.A warm smile spread across Rinoa's face and within seconds she was in his arms, burying her face against his shoulder.

Squall closed his eyes, absorbing her presence, the sweet smell of her hair, the soft touch of her skin… feeling her body being alive against his.She was alive.And she was all right.

"Oh Squall," Rinoa murmured, her eyes moist as she gently kissed his neck, then lifted her head to brush her nose against his before pulling a bit back.They watched each other intensely for a while, as if they had fallen in love all over again, although the moment was far too solemn for that.

"I was worried about you," he eventually said.

She blinked at him and giggled briefly at his seemingly cool tone, though she had learned to pick up the large amount of care and concern hidden behind simple words like those, "It's okay… You don't have to worry about me anymore."

Squall suddenly glanced at the floor, almost shamefully, "We… haven't found anything yet… about Dawn."

"I know, Squall," Rinoa's smile was gone, her expression saddened once again, "I want to come with you when you go back to Deling.I want to help searching, too."

He looked back at her, and she could tell he was about to list a bunch of good argued protests, "Rinoa, I don't want you to-"

"Squall," she wriggled out of his grasp and frowned, "I know what you're going to say, but I can take care of myself.And she is my daughter too, you know."

Squall was silent.

"How much do you know?"

He sighed and paced towards the window, "Not much, really.We know the woman's name and identity, but we haven't been able to find out anything at all about the man that was with her.And we have no clues as to where they are hiding."

Rinoa pressed a finger against her lip, black eyebrows narrowing in thought, "… I don't know if it means anything, but…"

"What?" Squall asked.

"When …that man, whoever he was, pressed the needle into me… He said something to me.And since I woke up, it's really been bothering me," she shook her head, "He whispered 'I'm sorry, sister…'"

Squall perked an eyebrow, "Sister?"

Rinoa nodded, "At least, that's what I think he said.Maybe it doesn't matter, but I just found it strange that he would say a thing like that."

He was quiet for a moment, then turned and headed towards the door, "I need to make a phone call."

"What?!" President Caraway rose from his chair abruptly, "Miss Trepe, what in God's good name kind of question is that?"

"I'm sorry, Sir," Quistis said meekly, "But we need to explore every option in order to solve this puzzle.So, if you please would be so kind to answer me, do you think there is a possibility?We won't waste our time searching if there's not."

Phillip Caraway stared at her, then sighed and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I suppose… it's possible… even though I don't know of any such incident… having any results.But I highly doubt this has anything to do with the case."The President seemed very uncomfortable.

"Will you allow us to do a search, then?" Irvine asked.

Sighing again, Caraway nodded, "Go ahead, Commander, Instructor… And… inform me if you find anything."

"We will," Quistis reassured.

As the two of them arrived in the computer room where the others were waiting, Quistis lowered herself to the chair and placed her fingers on the keyboard, "All right… Let's have a look at Caraway's family name."

"I knew it," Sejia smirked, "I bet he's had more mistresses than he can count."

"Miss Almasy, I strongly recommend you keep such comments to yourself," Quistis said sharply as she typed in the letters.Sejia scowled lightly, but didn't say anything else, while Robbie grinned to himself.

"Now, let's see…," Quistis scanned through the names that appeared on the screen, "Nope… The last one registered under the name of Caraway, after the President himself, is Rinoa."

"Dang," Irvine sighed, "Well, it's possible – even likely – that if any of his little women had a baby, they'd give it their own last name, not his."

Quistis nodded, "True."

"I think either Mrs. Leonhart needs her ears checked," Sejia said, "Or that guy didn't mean it literally."

"Hey…," Robbie blinked, "Who says it has to be on her father's side?What was her mother's maiden name?"

"Heartilly," Irvine said, "Quistis, try to do a search on Heartilly."

Quistis quickly typed in the word, and new names were listed, "Julia Heartilly… Rinoa Heartilly…," she startled a little just by seeing the next name on the screen, "Marius Heartilly.Bingo."

"Wow…," Irvine mumbled, "Julia had a few well-kept secrets too, it seems."

"Marius Heartilly… Born by Julia Heartilly in the Deling Hospital, 5th of January 2377.That's a little over a year before Rinoa was born," Quistis scrolled down the page, "Died few hours after his birth, due to an early delivery and birth complications."

"Obviously not," Sejia commented.

"Father unknown, but is assumed to be-," Quistis stopped mid-sentence.She stared at the screen without blinking, and her jaw dropped.

"What?" Irvine asked, "What does it say?"

Shutting her mouth, Quistis swallowed, before finally finding her voice again, "Father is assumed to be… a Galbadian soldier named Laguna Loire."


	4. Chapters 16 - 20

**Chapter 16:**

** **

Laguna could only watch in surprise as Squall came walking into his office and promptly slammed a piece of paper down on his desk, then stood back and folded his arms.

"What's this?"

"Just read it."Squall's tone was icy, and despite being used to the frown by now, Laguna disliked the expression on his son's face.Picking up the paper, he lifted his cup with his other hand, taking a sip of his coffee.

And nearly choked on it.Coughing, the president put his coffee cup down and grabbed the paper with both hands, "What the…?!"

"How many abandoned sons do you have walking around, Laguna?Any more surprises I should know of?Maybe Selphie's really my sister?" Squall's voice hadn't been so harsh towards Laguna in many years.

Unable to even speak, Laguna read the short sentences again.And again.Still, he found it difficult to believe, "H-how… How is this possible?" he half-whispered, eventually.

"You tell me!"

"Squall," Laguna said shakily, looking back up at the younger man, "I swear… I didn't know that…Oh God, this must be a joke, right?!"

Squall's arms dropped and he clenched his fists, shaking his head, "Your damn 'joke' is out there somewhere with my daughter, Laguna!Don't you get it?Just because you couldn't--," he cut himself off, swallowed, and started over, "Somehow, for some reason, your… son has taken Dawn for… what?Revenge?I don't even know."

Laguna looked pale.He slowly lowered the paper to the desk, then leaned back in his chair, feeling as if he was about to faint as realization slowly dawned upon him.Struggling to keep his mind straight, he tried to find an explanation, "It… Julia and I, we shared one night… Just one night before I was sent off to Centra.The next I heard from her was that she was married to Caraway, and then about her death six years later… I had no idea…"

He felt like cursing, insulting, yelling, anything to put the blame on Laguna.It felt so easy, right then, easy to say that everything was Laguna's fault, easy to say that his life would have been better without him as a part of it, though deep down inside he knew it wasn't the truth, nor was it fair.Squall was surprised at just how much bitterness there was left inside him that he hadn't even known about."You're always clueless.One night.If you just hadn't been so… irresponsible," he hissed.

"I didn't know, Squall," Laguna tried again, "Everyone makes mistakes.What can I say?"

"Mistakes that kidnap little girls?I'm sick of your excuses, Laguna!"

Squall wasn't the only one being sick of things, though.Laguna was tired of being harassed by his own son.No matter how much he regretted, no matter how much time passed and how hard he tried, Squall never seemed to forgive completely, never lost that cold edge.Being blamed for something he couldn't help at a time when he was under so much stress already, it was too much at once for the aging president to handle.Before he knew it, he was snapping right back, "Yes, mistakes, Squall!Don't you think I know how Adrian came to be?Like father, like son, huh?"

The moment he said it, he realized what he had done, but it was too late.Squall's eyes widened slightly, before returning to glaring intensely.

"Squall!" Laguna rose, "Wait, I--"

Squall had already left the office, though, slamming the door shut so hard the walls shook.Dropping back into the chair, Laguna placed his head in his hands and sighed.

The Belhelmel twisted and turned in the air, uttering strange, growling sounds of laughter now and then.Its puny opponent's attacks were weak and undeveloped, in its opinion.Another human child would fall victim to its wrath.

Mwezai was already exhausted.His stabs didn't seem to injure the monster, even though he tried so hard.Sweat was dripping from his forehead, his clothes were torn at a few places from the Belhelmel's attacks, and his hair was slightly burnt from a Thunder spell.Sakira was standing nearby, shaking her head at her student's poor skills.

Finally, the monster knocked over the barely 15 years old, skinny body, and prepared to finish the boy off.However, Sakira was quick to react.She jumped forward, taking the blow for Mwezai, but covered in order to reduce the damage.Then, as the Belhelmel withdrew, the woman raised her sword and slashed, cutting the monster severely.The Belhelmel growled, then narrowed its eyes in anger.The human was going to regret this!

Sakira easily dodged the swipe, though, and used the opportunity to attack again.As she kept striking in painful places every time, it didn't take long before the Belhelmel had to give up.It fell to the ground, then shattered into nothingness.

Mwezai was lying in the grass, panting and staring at Sakira, almost fearing her more than he had feared the beast.When she turned and approached him, he quickly got to his feet and picked up his sword.

"You incompetent fool!You'll never learn!" Sakira yelled, "I fought better than that when I was still in diapers!"

"I-I'm sorry," he stuttered, "I tried…"

"'Trying' isn't good enough!How will you ever reach your goals if you don't know how to fight?This is all you have, Moonlight.A sword, an enemy, and the need for survival.A boy who can not take care of himself will never be a man."

Always complaining.Always telling him what he did wrong, what he could have done better – Telling him how hopeless he was, telling him he'd never be a warrior.It had been that way his entire life.For as long as he could remember, he had struggled to satisfy his Guardian, but it was never good enough.

Oh, how wonderful wouldn't it be to have real parents… Like the children in Deling City.Real parents who cared about you for who you were and not for how well you fought.

But it was no use mentioning that to Sakira.She claimed she had saved his life, that she had found him in the slums as a newborn, without any trace of his parents.What other option did he have than believe her?Still, she couldn't deny him to dream… of a safe home with a kind, caring mother and a strong, wise father who'd teach him everything he'd need to know… in a nice way.Did people like that even exist?

"Are you listening to me, Moonlight?!"

His eyes turned to her again, and he glared.(I hate you…) The words formed on his lips, but he didn't dare to say them.He was afraid of her, and he despised it. He despised being weak.

"What?"Sakira placed her hands on her hips.

"Nothing," Mwezai muttered, "I'm sorry… I'll practice harder."

She nodded, "You'd better."

Often he'd play with the thought… That Sakira really was a witch who had kidnapped him; one of those evil sorceresses he had heard about several times through stories and rumors.Somewhere, his real parents were longing for him, in a rich and wealthy home…Just waiting for him to find them.

And he would find them, even if it'd take him the rest of his life to search.

Sakira watched him as they walked back to their shelter.She often wondered about him – Was he fit to live the life that she led?He didn't have any other skills that what she had taught him.Dishonesty, stealing, fighting; it was all she had to offer.Her own way of survival.It was odd how she still carried a certain sense of moral, though.Never did they take what they didn't need, including human lives.And she had taught Mwezai how to read and write.He was too intelligent to go to waste.

She'd have to raise him into a warrior, and not a thief.

**Chapter 17:**

** **

It was midday as the car pulled up just by the base of the hill, next to the other car that was already there.As Rinoa stepped outside, she saw Likoya standing at the hilltop, eagerly waving a hand at them, "They're here!" she yelled, bouncing up and down.Despite how tired and upset she felt, Rinoa couldn't help but smile weakly and she waved back.

They were all waiting for them up there.Robbie was punching the air, though with much less perfection than Zell, and Sejia was watching him with her usual, sarcastic expression, looking for an opportunity to throw in an insult.Rinoa watched them in mild wonder for a moment – it was easy to think of them as young replicas of their parents, though she knew that wasn't the truth.At least Robbie was way too uncertain and shy compared to his father.But Sejia… she didn't really know about her.

Squall ignored the youths and walked straight to where Quistis and Irvine were standing, but Quistis immediately turned to Rinoa instead and smiled, somewhat sorrowfully, but with relief, "Rinoa… I'm so glad to see you're all right.How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," Rinoa admitted, "But physically, I'm all right.The doctors helped me recover very quickly after I woke up."

"What did you find?" Squall asked, impatiently.Irvine frowned, and searched through his pocket, before pulling out a small piece of clothing.

"The Galbadian search team found this stuck to the tip of a stick, standing here on this hill," he explained, "It was pointing towards the Tomb of the Unknown King…"

Grabbing the piece, Squall studied it for a second, expressionlessly, then nodded, "It's from Dawn's shirt…," he handed it to Rinoa and looked back up at the two SeeDs, "Either they are trying to fool us, or they want us to find them.Why didn't the soldiers investigate it at once instead of waiting around for us?"

Quistis sighed, "They didn't dare to.They've grown up here in this city, with countless stories and myths about the Tomb… And they are convinced the place is haunted.Some of them refused even when Caraway threatened to fire them from the army, but I told him it would be better if we went, anyway.We've been there before, after all."

"Haunted… No wonder the Galbadian empire has been having problems all along.What wusses." Sejia snorted.Rinoa, holding the piece of Dawn's clothes to her chest, glanced at the young SeeD and lifted an eyebrow.She didn't hold any grudge against Seifer anymore, but that girl was so much like him it was ridiculous.At least that was her first impression.

That was everybody's first impression.

"Anyway…," Quistis continued, "I suggest we split up into two groups and search the tomb.Squall, you take Rinoa and Sejia with you and look through the eastern area, and Irvine, Robbie, Likoya and I will search the western area."

They all accepted the order without any further questions, and the rest of the trip to the old tomb went very quietly.No one dared to ask neither Squall nor Rinoa about the recent discovery.

About an hour later, Sejia, Rinoa and Squall were walking through the dark halls of the cavern, with Squall a bit ahead of the two females, holding a torch.There wasn't much to look at in there – only plain, empty walls and water trickling along the sides of the path.Rinoa was lost in thought, and she was pretty sure Squall was, too.She hated this – that even after so much time together, they couldn't always share their emotions and ponderings with each other.Squall actually seemed to be more comfortable speaking with Dawn sometimes.It hurt her, in a bizarre way.Rinoa would never dream of destroying the invisible bond father and daughter held between them.She'd rather want to be a part of it, wanted to look into Squall's mind and let her thoughts melt with his.Hear him speak his mind to her openly, if only just once, instead of having to see it in his eyes and actions.

Now Dawn was gone.No, not gone.Missing.And it was as if a part had fallen out of both of them, shattered and stepped upon.All communication was gone – after they learned the truth of Mwezai's identity, Rinoa and Squall hadn't been able to talk about it.It was too painful.Everything was too tense and painful.It wasn't difficult to see how Squall lingered between blaming himself and blaming Laguna, and how he kept hurting himself.The silence… the shell he had wrapped himself in so many years ago – Was it rebuilding itself?

Sejia was bored.As usual.If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was silence.And now she was trapped with the Leonharts, certainly not the most talkative couple on earth.Though she had expected Rinoa to be less cool than her husband.Clearing her voice, she finally spoke quietly, to the raven haired sorceress, "So… doesn't it feel kind of awkward knowing that you two have the same half-brother?"

Rinoa blinked and looked at the girl, biting back a snappy reply and answering rather calmly instead, "Yes… But we have other things to worry about right now."

"You know, your father… Caraway… You should have seen his reaction when we told him," Sejia smirked, but it was not really an amused expression, "Don't think I've ever seen anyone so shocked before."

Wincing, Rinoa nodded.She could imagine…Somehow, she was a bit relieved for her mother's sake that she was long gone, at the same time as she wanted to ask her so many questions.So many things she needed answers for.

"Take that, ugly thingy!" Likoya threw her nunchaku forward, striking the Blobra with great force, but the monster did hardly react at all.The weapon's blow merely bounced off its skin as though it was a rubber ball.As the monster lashed out to counter attack, Likoya quickly bounded away to hide behind Irvine, "Daddy!It's cheating!"

"Let me try!" Robbie leapt forward before anyone could say anything else, and punched the bluish, liquid-like creature as hard as he could, but still he didn't cause any noticeable damage.

Irvine frowned and took a step towards the monster, "You can't rely on physical attacks when you fight these things.You have to use other forces, like magic."With greatly developed skill, Irvine concentrated, and cast a Flare spell upon the enemy.The Blobra shrieked, and as rapidly as it could it tried to make an escape, only to be thrown off balance by one of Quistis' Thundaga spells.The life force leaving its body, the creature melted into a pool of water.

"Wow!" Likoya exclaimed and tugged on her father's arm, "Daddy, you're the best!"Irvine gave her a grin.

"Hey, what's this?" The three of them turned to Robbie, who was pulling a little note off the wall.Quistis went over and took it out of his hands.As she read the few words on the paper, her eyes narrowed.

"What is it?" Irvine asked.

"Look for yourself," Quistis handed him the note and he read it, blinked, and read it again.

"Hey, Squall!!!" Irvine turned and yelled down the hall, "Are you there?!"

After less than two minutes, Sejia and the Leonharts had joined them.Squall frowned – but he didn't even have the time to ask before Irvine gave him the paper.As Rinoa read over his shoulder, Squall was all surprised, confused and angered by the note.

"'Return to your childhood, Squall Leonhart.And bring your father, for the girl.'What the…?"

"What does it mean?"Robbie looked puzzled.

"'Return to your childhood'… Could he be talking about the orphanage?" Quistis said.

"Possibly…"

"Isn't that at Centra?"Sejia groaned, "Does this mean we have to travel long distances – perhaps just to find nothing at all – again??"

"They're playin' hide'n'seek with us!" Likoya pouted.

Squall frowned another time and crumpled the paper in his hand, "I've played this game long enough.We're going there, and we're going tonight.Someone inform President Loire that his presence is needed," he paused, looking around for a second, his eyes then resting on Quistis, "… Or at least, it would be appreciated…"

(Laguna is the President.He can offer money, soldiers, anything… But we don't know what this Mwezai person wants with him.Would he be willing to possibly risk his life to save one person?The Estharians require his leadership…)

"I'll do it, Squall," Irvine offered, "Likoya and Robbie shouldn't come with you, anyway, so I'll stay here in Deling with them, and keep contact with you in case reinforcements is needed."

"What!?" Likoya screeched.

"But-" Robbie started to protest, but Quistis was the one to shake her head this time.

"He's right.You're not old enough nor skilled enough yet,"she gave Robbie a glance, "You'll receive a report on how you've handled this mission once we get back to Garden."

"Four against two… Shouldn't be any problem," Sejia's tone held an air of arrogance.No one else seemed to be as sure as her, though.

Rinoa grasped at Squall's hand and squeezed it gently.It was now or never.Their daughter was out there somewhere, in pain, and they could wait no longer…With or without Laguna, they were going.

**Chapter 18:**

** **

"Uncle Laguna, you can't go!"Ellone shouted, but her foster father ignored her as he continued to search through his closet.

"It's got to be here somewhere…"

"Uncle Laguna, please," she pleaded, "I know how much you want to go and help out, I know… what he's doing to Dawn, but it's still insanity.For all we know, this…," Ellone hesitated.She'd like to say 'maniac', but it was, after all, Laguna's son she was speaking about, "…Mwezai might want revenge.Esthar needs their president safe and sound."

Laguna sighed and started to say something, but Kiros beat him to it, "She's right, Laguna.Squall and his team are trained to handle this kind of thing, they'll be fine.You would only be endangering your life."

"……" Ward commented from his corner of the room.

"Thank you!"Laguna threw his arms up, glancing at the latter of his companions, "At least someone is supporting me here."Turning to the others, he flicked away a strand of graying hair before placing his hands on his hips, "Mwezai stated specifically that he wanted me there.I'm not going to risk my granddaughter's life for my own sake," his gaze dropped to the floor, "I have failed my family enough for one lifetime.Never again."

Kiros exchanged a look with Ward, then sighed slowly.Ellone narrowed her eyes and walked up to the president, wrapping her arms around his neck, "We understand, uncle Laguna.Just don't get yourself hurt, okay?"

He smiled sadly and stroked her hair, "I'll try not to."Turning back to the closet, he proceeded to search for another while, before finally pulling out what he was looking for, "Voila!I found it."

The others just watched and didn't say anything as Laguna dusted off his machine gun.

"It looks so empty…"

The wind blew gently around the four of them as they stood on the small rocky hill, looking down at the ancient stone building and the almost equally old lighthouse below.Indeed, the orphanage was a sad sight.Time had not been kind to it and it looked even more sad than it had when they last visited.That was 17 years ago.

At least it didn't look as bad as it would in Ultimecia's time.

Squall didn't reply to Quistis' comment, but although he didn't show it, he disliked just as much as she did to see the place where he had spent the first years of his life in such a bad shape.And Rinoa had memories from the orphanage too, if not as many as her friends had.She tried to get a look at the flower field, but they couldn't see it from the angle they were standing at.

"So, how can we be sure this is the right place?" Sejia asked.She was the only one of them who didn't have any emotions connected to the area, and was just eager to get on with the mission.She had been waiting to for a long while now.

"It has to be here," Squall said coolly.(If it isn't, we are back were we began – with nothing.I don't think I could take that…)

"This is it, then," Rinoa sighed, inching closer to Squall and leaning her head against his shoulder, "Doesn't it ever end?How can we know that this really will be it?I thought fighting Ultimecia was it, I thought getting rid of Xar and gain peace in Galbadia was it, I thought…," she swallowed, "Adrian's death… was it…"

"This will be it, Rinoa."Squall's voice lacked the confidence he had wanted it to hold.He slipped an arm around his wife's waist, "I promise."

She glanced up at him.(Just don't make promises you can't keep, Squall.)

Sejia rolled her eyes and started to walk down towards the orphanage.Quistis gave the two of them a longing look, but nevertheless she was glad to see them back together.Shaking her head to herself, she crossed her arms and made a little movement with her hand, motioning towards the building below, "We'd better get going."

And they walked towards what would hopefully be their last battle.

**Chapter 19:**

** **

Once again, the wooden door of the cold, stone room slid open, and the girl quickly pressed herself more firmly against the walls of her corner.She didn't even bother to hope for anyone else than her two kidnappers.

And it wasn't, but fortunately, it was the female one - she was a little less insane than her male companion.A little.Sakira looked around briefly as she stood in the doorway, letting her black eyes adjust to the darkness before they fell upon the child.Smirking at the curled up pose Dawn held, the aging woman walked over, placing a plate with a piece of dry bread and a bottle of water on the floor in front of the young captive, "You really ought to eat, dear.That body of yours wouldn't take harm from gaining some weight."She watched Dawn, who just stared back at her with wide eyes, then chuckled darkly, "I don't think this stuff will make you fat, though.Blame Moonlight – he's the one who bought the food."

Looking around for a chair, and finding none, Sakira simply sat down on the floor as well, folding her purple cape beneath her, "Of course, my darling Mwezai doesn't care too much about what he eats these days.All he cares about is your father.And your grandfather, I suppose," she snorted, "You know that, don't you?He's not after you.In fact, when he doesn't need you anymore, he'll throw you aside like a worthless rag doll."

Silence.Sakira sighed, and smirked again, "You don't say much, do you?Come on.One word.Or at least enjoy your meal.Might be the last you get in a while… or ever… Depends on your father's actions."

The girl kept watching the woman blankly, unblinking, momentarily glancing at the longsword she always had with her."Throw me aside like he did to you?"Her raspy voice suddenly uttered, quietly, but still spitefully.

Sakira blinked, then frowned, "I'd slap you for that, little bitch, but I see Moonlight already gave you a black eye," she noted, studying the bruised face, "Think you'd better watch your tongue if you want to survive."

"You'll never get away with this," Dawn hissed with the typical anger of a child, her breath shaky, "Dad will find me.He loves me."

At that, Sakira just laughed mockingly, "Oh, that's a good one.Daddy loves you, so therefore he'll find you."She shook her head, "Maybe he will, dear, but it won't do much good as soon as he faces Mwezai's wrath.My boy has a lot of hate towards his younger brother."She ignored Dawn's expression of pure confusion, "I guess it's a guy thing.Protect their own 'honor and pride'.Always a competition to be the best.Let me tell you something about love, young Leonhart; it's the most selfish thing in the world."

She paused, nodding curtly to confirm her own words, "We love, and we care because that person makes us feel good.We protect them because we don't want to lose that good feeling, nor do we want to lose the good feeling it gives us when we think we're being kind.There is no such thing as 'kindness'.All our actions and thoughts – They are all a part of taking care of our own ego.You seek other people because you're lonely.Your father searches for you because it's what he has to do, as your father.As a good father, don't you see?"

"That's… that's not true!"Dawn shook her head frantically.

"And Moonlight," Sakira continued, "Moonlight is doing this because he wants to be a good son, and to prove he can be a better son than Leonhart.The poor boy doesn't see his own mistakes… And he won't let me point them out to him.So why do I help him, you wonder?"A pensive look crossed her face, "… Because it's what I have to do, as his guardian.I can't let him down now."

Silence filled the room once again.Dawn wrapped her arms more tightly around herself – it was cold, despite the sunny weather - it wouldn't reach the inside of the orphanage.Sakira looked as if she was about to speak again, but a sound from outside interrupted her.Distant voices.Perking up, the woman stood and moved to the window.

"Oh."Her tone was surprised, yet calm,"I'd better go warn Moonlight…"Her gaze flashed to Dawn, and she glared, "You'd better stay here and don't move, or I'll personally cut something out of you.You must not interfere now."With that, she disappeared.

And Dawn didn't dare to move.But she dared to hope again.

They moved around the orphanage, walked through the field of flowers, flowers in all colors of the rainbow.Rinoa was amazed that these blossoms' beauty were still untouched, while the building itself was in such a bad shape.Never dying, never disappearing…Maybe even in Ultimecia's time, this bed of flowers would still be here.

She walked by Squall's side, slightly behind Sejia and Quistis.She didn't want to show that she was nervous… Whatever happened today, she hoped she wouldn't have to use her powers.Rinoa was constantly trying to forget the fact that she was a Sorceress, using her abilities as little as possible, and generally trying to rely on her weapon instead of magic when she had to fight.If there was one thing she – they – didn't need, it was having the world fearher.

The two women in front of them stopped abruptly, and Rinoa snapped out of her thoughts, halting as she gazed towards the platform-like backyard of the orphanage.There they stood, side by side.The woman named Sakira, and the man… her half-brother, and Squall's half-brother, Mwezai.She glanced at Squall – his eyes were hard and cold.No emotion there.

"Well, well, well… If it isn't the Leonharts," Mwezai began with a chuckle, then eyed Rinoa with mild surprise, "You're here too, huh?Amazing… I was pretty sure I had knocked you out for good.But it's not like it really matters," he shrugged.

"Where is she?" Asked Quistis, looking around, but there was no sign of Dawn.Sejia rested a hand on her hip and locked eyes with Sakira, neither one saying anything.

"I might ask you the same… almost," Mwezai took a step forward, his eyes never leaving Squall, who was just glaring the entire time, "Where is he?"

"He's not here," Squall replied evenly.

"Well, no Laguna… no Leonhart girl.Sorry." He smirked.Sakira frowned – she hadn't expected him to take it so calmly.Did he think they would just leave again and go get the President?

"Oh, come on!"Sejia suddenly interrupted, "Who do you think you are?!"

"Sejia-" Quistis began, reaching out for the young SeeD with her hand, but the girl pulled away and swiped the air with her gunblade.

"No, I'm sick and tired of this!We are four, you are two.We are three top-trained SeeDs – more or less – and a Sorceress, and you… you're a pathetic couple of thieves!What are your chances of winning this battle?"

Sakira stared angrily at Sejia.Mwezai frowned, "How can you even be so sure the girl is here?!You'll need our help to find-"

"Mom?Dad?"

Everybody turned to look at the small window behind Sakira and Mwezai, where a young brunette was squinting against the sunlight.Rinoa's eyes widened.

"Dawn?"

Squall wasn't sure who made the first blow, but before he really got time to figure out what had happened, they were fighting.He had to act quickly to block Mwezai's sword from slicing him in two, and barely registered seeing Sejia and Quistis fight Sakira off to the side, while Rinoa dashed towards the orphanage's entrance.

Mwezai's strength was surprising, and he handled his longsword with great skill – Squall, who hadn't been in a real battle for quite some time, had a rather hard time blocking all the attacks and at the same time try to hurt his opponent.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked as he lifted his blade to strike the sword with a loud, metallic sound.

Mwezai's face held an odd expression of both amusement and anger at the same time, "Oh, you really are clueless, aren't you Leonhart?" he hissed, drawing his weapon back to attack again, "Don't you understand?You have everything I ever wanted.Glory, fame, money… a family.And now when I finally get my chance, you're standing in my way!"

Squall winced as the sharp sword blade brushed against his shoulder, drawing blood.Quickly, he threw a bolt of fire on Mwezai, who staggered back."What are you talking about?"

The slightly older man regained his balance, his sword coming down on Squall's gunblade once again, "Don't be a fool, Squall.Your father!Our father.He's the President, dammit.How do you think I felt when I found out my father's the freaking most powerful guy in the world?!"

"I don't know!"Squall ducked a blow, and then swiftly cut through the air with his blade, slashing at the other's arm, "Probably a lot better than I did!"

Mwezai didn't seem to take much notice of the pain, but he paused to pant and wipe the sweat off his brow.Obviously, he didn't have any Cure spells stocked – Squall doubted he had any idea how to junction GFs or use magic anyway."I'm his oldest son, you know,"Mwezai smirked, "That would make me the rightful Heir to Esthar, wouldn't it?"

Taking the opportunity to cure his own wound, Squall was caught off guard by that statement.(This guy is seriously crazy… The next President?This isn't a monarchy.)

(Wait a minute… Does that mean he thinks that I am going to…?)

Before he could finish the thought, Mwezai's sword aimed for him again.

Meanwhile, Sakira was putting up a rather impressive challenge to Sejia and Quistis, but they were two on one, and they had magic to help them.Sakira only had her weapon to rely on.To make up for that, though, she was incredibly good at using it.Quistis couldn't really do much with her whip as the older woman was so good at blocking her attacks, and mostly used magic, while Sejia tried her best to weaken Sakira in close-up battle.

Sakira didn't really know what she was fighting for anymore.It wasn't for herself, for her own success, for her own happiness or safety…She was here because of Mwezai – her Moonlight – the only one she considered family.But it had become all too obvious to her that he didn't want her as family.The family he wanted was a different one, and she knew that, but yet she kept risking her life for him.

… Somewhere deep down inside, she wished he would change his mind.Hoped he would, even.There was nothing else left for her.And so she kept doing her best, blocking off Sejia's attacks and trying to avoid Quistis' rush of spells.She didn't know how much longer she could keep it up…

Squall didn't want to believe it, but he seemed to be on the losing side.Mwezai was so stubborn – he was giving everything he had, apparently not planning to give up anytime soon.And Squall was getting tired – he wasn't as young as he used to be.

"Giving up so soon, Leonhart?" Mwezai grinned, "I could go on like this forever."His looks betrayed his words, though.Even if sword fighting was practically the only thing he was good at, a man of 36 years had his limits.Squall was about to block another attack, when a clear, high-pitched voice distracted him.

"Dad!"Dawn called out.Squall glanced up to see his daughter stand in the door to the orphanage, clinging to Rinoa's side.She looked so small and fragile… but definitely alive.

The next thing he knew, his gunblade was knocked out of his hands, and he was pushed to the ground.A heavy boot pressed against his chest, and he stared straight up into Mwezai's eyes-

-cold, glaring eyes, so much alike his own, but they held a look of insanity that Squall had never seen in anyone else before.

Mwezai's sword was held high in the air above his head, the sunlight reflecting in the deadly silver blade, "Not so tough now, eh, Leonhart?" he laughed darkly.

The others had stopped fighting, and all of them – even Sakira – were just staring.The longsword trembled… No, it was Mwezai's hands that shook.Rinoa debated whether she had time to cast a spell or not, and whether it would hurt her husband too if she did.

Squall didn't know how many seconds, or minutes, or even hours he was lying there before Mwezai's sword swept down to end everything, but when it did-

"Squall!!" someone shouted.

-it never got that far.

Several gunshots were heard, and Squall could see his brother's eyes widen in shock, his mouth twisting in pain.The older man froze in his position, sword still a good distance away from Squall's face.Mwezai took in a few, short breaths, then his body dropped heavily on top of Squall's.Squall quickly rolled him off himself and got to his feet, turning around to see…

Laguna was standing at the brink of the flower field, smoke coming from the mouth of his machine gun.He had a sad expression on his face.

Wriggling out of Rinoa's grasp, Dawn bolted down to Squall and promptly threw herself in his arms.And, ignoring everything and everyone for just a second, Squall hugged her back, both paying no attention to the blood stains that spread from his clothes to her own.

They pulled apart and he looked into her eyes, swallowing the lump in his throat, "Dawn, I…"

"It's okay, dad," she smiled softly, despite her exhaustion, "I know."

"Moonlight…"A voice said from beside them.Sakira had moved away from Quistis and Sejia, and no one had really tried to stop her.Everyone, Laguna and Rinoa included, seemed glued to the spot.Sakira fell to her knees by Mwezai's side, stroking a hand through his dark hair.

Mwezai was shuddering violently, both hands clutched to his wounded chest as the pool of blood grew beneath him.Tears started to run down Sakira's cheeks, but she didn't seem to care, or take note of it.

"You never really loved me, did you?" she whispered.

His greenish-brown eyes, terrified and furious at the same time, glanced at her."N… N-no… Sa… kira…," he choked out, barely audible.The eyes closed for the last time and his tense body relaxed.

Sakira lowered her head, her messy, black hair hanging into her face, "No…," she said, quietly at first.But then she stood up, and her voice rose, "No?NO?!!"Expression wild, she drew her sword.Rinoa, Sejia and Quistis all took a step forward, weapons ready, and Squall; still with an arm around his daughter, backed away.

But Sakira didn't aim for any of them.Instead she dashed right towards Laguna, "It's all your fault!!" she screamed.He started to say something and lifted his gun, but she quickly swiped at his hand, making him drop it, then proceeded to give him a severe cut across his chest.Laguna fell to the ground.

Sakira was ready to hit him again, but Rinoa's Shooting Star shot right into her arm, and she cried out in agony.Breathing heavily, she looked around… And knowing she was surrounded, the aging woman cast one last glance at Laguna's injured form – before she, without a word, pushed past the others and threw herself off the cliff, down towards the sharp rocks at the beach.

"Wait!" Quistis yelled, then silence… as the dull sound of a human body hitting the ground was heard.Nothing left to fight for…

Quickly, they all ran to Laguna's side.Squall kneeled and took his father's head in his arms, while Quistis examined the wound.She looked up at the others, ice blue eyes worried, "It's pretty bad…"

Squall blinked and looked at Laguna, "Why did you do that?"

Laguna coughed and winced, but he still smiled faintly, "I had to make a choice.One of you were going to die…I… chose to save the one I love, and who I'm very proud of," he coughed again.Rinoa and Quistis were trying to heal the wound, but it was too deep to be cured by mere spells, "If you'll let me be proud of you, that is…I'm sorry, Squall."

"Laguna…" Squall said, but trailed off.Dawn was standing next to him, concern plain on her honest face.

No one said anything.Even Sejia was silent now, staying a bit behind as she watched the scene.Rinoa tried desperately to hold back a sob and held Dawn against her, not wanting to frighten her daughter any more than she already was.Quistis was pacing back and forth impatiently nearby, holding a cell phone to her ear and waiting for a reply.

The old president was struggling to keep himself awake, and he quietly studied Squall's face.Somewhat surprised, and not quite sure if it was just his blurring sight that betrayed him, he noticed a single tear run down his son's cheek, "So you do care…"

(Of course I do.)Squall could only nod.

"Then it's okay to go…," Laguna whispered, blinking a few times… Then mercifully letting him escape the pain, the world blacked out.

Squall closed his eyes and Rinoa finally couldn't hold in her sobs anymore.Trampling across the flower field came the emergency health team from President Loire's express plane.

**Chapter 20:**

** **

"Sefie?"

The voice startled the chestnut haired woman a little and she turned on her chair to look over her shoulder, "Hmm?"

Irvine walked up to his wife and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, reaching down to kiss her cheek, "Hey," he whispered in her ear, then glanced over at the computer screen to see what she was doing.To his surprise, it contained the image of a site he hadn't seen for a long time now.

"The 'Sir Laguna' page?You haven't worked on that for years, honey."

Selphie nodded, "I know…I'm thinking of putting it up again, though.Might look like a waste of time for a headmistress, but I can pass it away as 'educational'," she smiled softly as the looked at the screen, then back up at her husband, "He's an important part of history, after all."

He chuckled and brushed his nose against her hair, then placed another kiss on top of her head before straightening up again, "I don't think anyone would mind, really.I sort of miss the time in Balamb, when you used to update that page every day."They looked quietly at each other for a moment, then Irvine started for the door, "I'd better go.I need to finish some reports, and then I promised to accompany Likoya to the Training Center."

"All right.Be careful," Selphie watched him exit, then as he shut the door behind him, she let her smile fade and turned back to the computer.Sighing softly, she placed her hands on the keyboard and started to type.

'After 61 years, the last chapter of president Laguna Loire– or as I like to call him; Sir Laguna's - life has been written…'

Xu breathed a sigh of relief as she signed the last request for the evening.After turning off the light in her office and locking the door, she proceeded down the hall with a stack of papers under her arm.It was nearly 11:30 pm, and therefore she was a little surprised to see the lights were still on in Quistis' office.She hesitated outside the door for a moment, then decided to knock.

"Who is it?" asked a tired voice from inside.

"It's Xu."

A pause, then faint noises of someone trying to clean their desk in a haste, before the voice finally replied, "Come on in."

Xu opened the door and walked inside, finding Quistis sitting behind her desk with a picture in her hand.As Xu entered, however, she put it on top of the rest of her papers.Glancing at it as she sat down on the other side of the desk, Xu noticed it was a picture of Zell, Bella and their son Robbie.

"Awfully late for you, isn't it?"

"Yeah, well…," Quistis sighed and leaned her head in her hands, "I couldn't sleep, so I came back here to do some work instead."

The older woman frowned slightly, "You aren't still blaming yourself for the incident on Centra, are you?Quistis, I've told you a thousand times already that there wasn't anything you could-"

"No, no, no…It's not that," Quistis shook her head, then leaned back in her chair, grabbing the picture again, "I was just thinking about me… And my life.And my friends' lives."She smiled, somewhat bitterly, "For the longest time I've been so jealous of them for having what I don't have… A family."

Xu didn't say anything, but merely nodded as she waited for Quistis to continue.She knew that feeling – but she herself had come to accept that SeeD was her life, and that it always would be.No one really asked her; she lived to work.

"But I think I see now that having a family isn't necessarily the most important thing in life," Quistis pulled away a few golden locks of hair from her face and leaned back in her chair, watching the picture for a few more moments, then put it in her drawer and closed it, "It's that you make a difference with your life that really matters.And knowing that I'm appreciated here, knowing that I have friends who will help me and who will ask me for help…Knowing that I'm needed, I think that's enough."

Xu smiled,"I'm glad you're so at peace with it, Quistis.I was beginning to worry for you…Heck, I've been worrying for you ever since you broke up with your last fiancée."

The instructor shrugged, "Well, I'm fine now.Really.You just go ahead and get to bed, don't let me keep you up."

"If you say so," Xu rose and headed for the exit, "Good night, Quistis.And remember, it's still not too late for you.There are many fish in the sea."

"Good night, Xu.And thank you."

As she was left alone again, Quistis looked down at the report lying on her desk and signed it.It was a good one, a student report on Robbie Dincht.A pair of parents would be very proud when they saw this.Standing, she walked over to the window.It was a clear, starry night and the new moon shone brightly down at Balamb Garden.

(It's still not too late…)

Squall Leonhart stood at the balcony of the Presidential Palace, gazing out at the beautiful and amazing view of Esthar city.The very same spot where he had been standing that evening 10 years ago, when he had called Laguna 'father' for the first and only time.Sighing at the memory, he regretted he now wouldn't get another chance.

Excited giggles were heard from behind him, and he turned to face the door to see his daughter walk out on the balcony, along with her 'uncle' Ward.She was carrying her weapon with her, and ran straight to her father as she saw him.

"Dad, dad, guess what?" she smiled up at him.

Squall half-heartedly smiled in return, even if his smiles had been more rare lately, "What?"

"Ward and I were out in the plains, and we met this Bite Bug.But I killed it, all on my own!Isn't that great?He says I'm going to be a great warrior some day."

"That's wonderful…," Squall replied, but frowned as he glanced up at the large man.

Ward gave a shrug, "……"

"It's not his fault, dad.I was the one who wanted to practice, so I asked him to come with me…,"Dawn explained.Squall blinked – No matter how hard he tried, he never understood Ward's expressions and mute replies, but it seemed like his daughter did.Shaking his head, he bent down to her level.

"If that's what you want to do, it's all right.Follow your own dreams."

"Thanks, dad!"Dawn smiled brightly and quickly kissed her father's cheek, then ran over to Ward and grabbed his huge hand, trying to pull him along, "Come on, let's see if we can find another!"

(Children fighting…Children dying.Is that what SeeD is?)

Squall looked after them for a moment, then returned to watching the view.It didn't take long before he was disturbed again, however.

"Squall…?"

He was relieved to see Rinoa quietly walk up and stand next to him, placing a hand on top of his, "What are you doing out here?"

He shrugged, "Just thinking…"

"About what?"

"About…what the Estharians have offered me."For what seemed like the thousand time that day, Squall sighed, "It's a twisted kind of irony, you know.The thought had never, ever crossed my mind before Mwezai mentioned it when we fought.It felt insane to even think about it then."

(I think about Laguna…About what he felt in that moment he shot his own son.)

Rinoa nodded slowly and glanced down at the numerous, impressive buildings below, "And how do you feel about it now?"

He frowned, "They expect me to be their leader.They expect me to do the job like Laguna did it, because I used to be the leader of SeeD once, and because…," he paused and looked at his wife again, "… because I am his son."

The sorceress smiled faintly and lifted his hand into both of hers, holding it close to her chest in a gesture of love, "Yes, yes, I know, Squall… I know they expect you to be the next President, just like they once expected you to be Headmaster back at Garden.They are the crowd, they will always look to the hero to be their leader.You didn't complain back then, even if it wasn't what you really wanted.What will you do now?What do you feel?"

She looked into his deep blue eyes, he looked into her warm brown ones.The insight this woman had, the wisdom she had, her calm advice and how she always knew what to say when he was upset, when to make him smile.It was all that made her Rinoa, the woman he burned for, lived for.It was only her he wanted.Her and the family they had together, nothing else mattered.

"I feel… that Kiros Seagull would make a far better president than I ever could.I feel the crowd don't have the right to decide where my life will go next."

Rinoa looked very relieved, even if she tried to hide it.He pulled her close in a warm hug, resting his head on top of hers."So where will it go next?" she asked.

"I don't know.I only know that wherever I go, I'll take you with me."

She smiled more warmly and leaned up to brush her nose against his, "And I'll be here, as always.I promise," Rinoa giggled, "Those were the words that started everything, weren't they?"

A smile spread across Squall's face as well, a genuine one, "Actually, I believe the exact words were: 'You're the most handsome guy here.Dance with me?'"

Rinoa laughed, "I'll never forget that.You were so reluctant to dance, but you did manage rather well for a guy who 'can't dance'."She looked at him, then slyly added, "And you're still the most handsome guy around."

"And you're still the only girl who can talk me into dancing," he answered, his smile slowly fading. Silence followed for a moment as they simply watched each other, his arms wrapped around her waist, hers around his neck.

Then he said the words she had given up expecting to actually hear from him.

"I love you, Rinoa."

She blinked, but held back her surprise and instead she breathed the same sentence in return as he drew her closer to kiss her, "I love you too, Squall."

The door to the small house in Balamb town slammed open violently, and a blonde teenager girl threw her bag on the floor, shrugged off her jacket and kicked off her boots as she yelled, "Mom!I'm home!"

Seconds later, Fujin came walking into the room, Raijin tagging along not too far behind her."SEJIA!"

"Hey mom and uncle Rai,"Sejia smiled and hugged her mother quickly, then went over to hug the man she had adopted as her uncle.

"It's good to see you again, ya know?"Raijin grinned and high-fived the girl, "It gets lonely here without ya, Sejia."

"FEELING?" Fujin asked in her rough voice.

"Just fine.The mission was successful, even if it had a bit of an unfortunate outcome," Sejia answered, then looked around, "Where's dad?"

Raijin started to say something, but Fujin beat him to it, "UPSTAIRS."She pointed while adjusting her eye patch with her other hand.Sejia wished her mother would just take the money she had offered and go get herself a glass eye already.

"Thanks.I'll tell you all about what happened later," she said, then disappeared up the stairs.Fujin and Raijin looked at each other and shrugged.It had been a long time since Sejia was that eager to see her father.

Seifer sat on his wooden bed, busy sharpening his gunblade with a smooth rock.It didn't matter that he hardly used it anymore, or that he didn't really have to use it at all – the Hyperion was to be kept in perfect shape at all times.

"You'll never get tired of that thing, will you, Almasy?"

Looking up in surprise, he found his daughter standing by the stairs, watching him with a smirk.Putting the gunblade down on his bed, he rose and walked over to her, a matching smirk on his own lips.

"Well, well.My little SeeD is back from work.And her attitude is still intact, I see."

"Oh, no one can change what runs in the blood, father," Sejia replied swiftly, walking over to his bed and flopping down onto it, lifting his gunblade into the air, "Be it looks, attitude or fighting skills."

"Careful with that," Seifer warned, leaning against the wall, "You never know what bad traits you could have picked up after spending so much time with Leonhart."

Sejia laughed, a touch of sarcasm in her voice, "You are living proof of that."

"Shut up, Sejia," her father growled in return.Figuring she was about to cross the line, the girl didn't say anything else, and put the Hyperion back down.She watched him for a moment before speaking again.

"Leonhart isn't so bad."

Seifer nodded, faintly, but didn't openly agree, "So, does he still have his scar?"

Sejia's eyes trailed down the perfect cut that marked her father's face, right down between his eyes, an exact opposite of the one Squall possessed.She smiled, suddenly, and leaned back on the bed, staring up at the plain white ceiling.

"Yeah, he does," she said, "But I think it's starting to fade."

……

**The End**

****

****

~ Tarlia, 2000.


End file.
